README.md

gradle-dependency-management-plugin

Bringing centralized dependency management to Gradle multi-module projects. Copying the same dependency definition is multiple modules is poor engineering. But Gradle doesn't have a built in mechanism for defining the specifics of a dependency once and then pulling it into a module on demand by identity.

Yes, this is shamelessly lifted from Maven. But these plugin will aim to be an improvement, both in terms of shedding odd Mavenisms and improved usefulness and clarity.

Usage

The dependency definitions are defined in the dependencyManagement block. Normally, it'll be in the root project, but it can be in any of the user module's parents, even the user module itself. dependencyManagement block in sub-modules have a hierarchical relationship with any in their parents and can be used to overriding individual dependency configurations.

$PROJECT_HOME/build.gradle

buildscript {
  repositories {
    mavenCentral()
  }

  dependencies {
    classpath 'com.github.sblundy.gradle.dependencymanagement:gradle-dependency-management-plugin:0.2.1'
  }
}

apply plugin: 'dependency-management'

dependencyManagement {
  dependency('org.testng:testng:5.5:jdk15')
}

An optional configuration closure can be added.

$PROJECT_HOME/build.gradle

apply plugin: 'dependency-management'

dependencyManagement {
  dependency('org.testng:testng:5.5:jdk15') {
    transitive = false
  }
}

Referencing a defined dependency in the dependencies block is done by calling managed([group: <group>, name: <name>]). This method is added by the plugin to dependencies.

$PROJECT_HOME/module/build.gradle

apply plugin: 'dependency-management'

dependencies {
  test managed(group: 'org.testng', name: 'testng')
}