# State and future of the Gradle Software Model

DevFeed: [State and future of the Gradle Software Model](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/state-and-future-of-the-gradle-software-model-24694.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://blog.gradle.org/state-and-future-of-the-gradle-software-model>)

Author: Daniel Lacasse

Published: 2017-08-24T04:00:00Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [The Gradle Blog](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/the-gradle-blog.md>)

Topics: [Gradle](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/gradle.md>), [Software](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/software.md>), [configuration](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/configuration.md>), [make](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/make.md>), [Development](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/development.md>)

Tags: [configuration](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/configuration.md>), [declarative](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/declarative.md>), [dependencies](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/dependencies.md>), [development](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/development.md>), [gradle](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/gradle.md>), [make](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/make.md>), [migration](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/migration.md>), [parallel](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/parallel.md>), [software](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/software.md>)

## AI overview

This article explains the status and future direction of Gradle's Software Model, especially for native libraries and applications. It describes the model as a declarative, rule-based approach to build configuration and dependency modeling, with goals including better performance, easier customization of complex toolchains, and more standardized modeling across software ecosystems. The article also discusses Gradle's native support, its comparison with Make-based builds, experimental integrations with Android and Java, and the migration challenges created by the new model.

## Source excerpt

We've received many inquiries about the status and direction of Gradle's Software Model, especially from users building native libraries and applications. In this blog post, we will explain the current state and future of the Software Model, and in particular how it relates to native development with Gradle. A lot of exciting improvements are planned for the remainder of 2017; see the roadmap below. Situation with the Software Model In a nutshell, the Software Model is a very declarative way to describe how a piece of software is built and the other components it needs as dependencies in the process. It also provides a new, rule-based engine for configuring a Gradle build. When we started to implement the Software Model we set ourselves the following goals: Improve configuration and execution time performance. Make customizations of builds with complex tool chains easier. Provide a richer, more standardized way to model different software ecosystems As we were developing the Software Model, the Gradle engineering team constantly tried to dogfood the concepts into existing software ecosystems. The Gradle plugins for building native applications is currently fully-based on the Software Model. Similarly, experimental Software Model-based plugins were developed for ecosystems like Android and Java. Gradle adoption in the native ecosystem is picking up, and so is our investment. Since it's inception, Gradle's native support has proved itself as a welcome alternative for builds using Make. With its declarative and expressive model, support for different tool chains and platforms as well as features like parallel compilations, it offers a revolutionary way for building native libraries and applications. It took us longer than expected to evolve the new configuration and Software Model and make it as powerful as the current Gradle model for Java and Android. Meanwhile, Gradle adoption skyrocketed, there are many complex builds out there using the current model and a vibrant