Getting CLASSPATH from environment in ant build.xml

Question

How can I get the CLASSPATH from the environment in a build.xml?

I've tried

<property environment="env"/>

<path id="classpath">
  <pathelement location="${env.CLASSPATH}"/>
</path>

<target name="compile">
  <javac includeantruntime="false">
    <src path="${src}"/>
    <classpath refid="classpath"/>
  </javac>
</target>

I have a feeling this is failing because ${env.CLASSPATH} is a colon-separated list. How then, can I get my classpath? I was surprised when ant didn't use my environment's CLASSPATH.

EDIT:

I've found a quick solution, but the preferred method is to use a separate properties file like the example here http://www.java2s.com/Code/Java/Ant/Useseparatepropertyfile.htm

Solution is, add

<property name="build.sysclasspath" value="first"/>

to the top of the build.xml

Answer 1

use this may it helps..

<property environment="env."/>
<property name="env.CLASSPATH" value=""/>

Answer 2

Yes, it's failing because it's a colon-separated list. In general, it's considered a bad idea to specify the class-path externally and use it within Ant. This is because running the same Ant script on different machines may yield different results. Instead, you're better of specifying the class-path from within Ant.