Gradle dependencies: What's the difference between compile project and compile name?

Question

Sample code

dependencies {    
    compile project (':aProject')
    compile name: 'somefile'
    compile files('libs/something_local.jar')
    compile 'com.google.code.gson:gson:2.3.1'
}

My questions are

1. What's the difference between compile project and compile name here?

2. Is compile name the same as compile files ?

3. When do you use compile directly as shown in the 5th line of code

4. What does compile do here? Is it compiling the files inside bracket/single quotes? Can I use something like 'build' etc.?

Answer 1

Compile means, it is compiling the library in other to be used on your project

compile project (':aProject')

• It compiles the module from your project

compile files('libs/something_local.jar')

• It compiles a file from your project (usually it is on lib directory)

compile name: 'something_local'

compile(name:'something_local', ext:'jar')

• It is the same as compile files, but your are indicating the directory of the file the repositories (like compiling from a remote repository but it is from local)

compile 'com.google.code.gson:gson:2.3.1'

• It compiles the library from a maven repository, you use this instead of cloning the library project and putting it to your project.