Could not create task or type: getProjectData from Ant

Question

I am trying to run an Ant task from within IBM RSA IDE using Ant build ...

I get the following error message:

BUILD FAILED
build.xml:21: Could
 not create task or type of type: getProjectData.

Ant could not find the task or a class this task relies upon.

This is common and has a number of causes; the usual
solutions are to read the manual pages then download and
install needed JAR files, or fix the build file:
 - You have misspelt 'getProjectData'.
   Fix: check your spelling.
 - The task needs an external JAR file to execute
     and this is not found at the right place in the classpath.
   Fix: check the documentation for dependencies.
   Fix: declare the task.
 - The task is an Ant optional task and the JAR file and/or libraries
     implementing the functionality were not found at the time you
     yourself built your installation of Ant from the Ant sources.
   Fix: Look in the ANT_HOME/lib for the 'ant-' JAR corresponding to the
     task and make sure it contains more than merely a META-INF/MANIFEST.MF.
     If all it contains is the manifest, then rebuild Ant with the needed
     libraries present in ${ant.home}/lib/optional/ , or alternatively,
     download a pre-built release version from apache.org
 - The build file was written for a later version of Ant
   Fix: upgrade to at least the latest release version of Ant
 - The task is not an Ant core or optional task
     and needs to be declared using <taskdef>.
 - You are attempting to use a task defined using
    <presetdef> or <macrodef> but have spelt wrong or not
   defined it at the point of use

Remember that for JAR files to be visible to Ant tasks implemented
in ANT_HOME/lib, the files must be in the same directory or on the
classpath

Please neither file bug reports on this problem, nor email the
Ant mailing lists, until all of these causes have been explored,
as this is not an Ant bug.

Here's the Ant buildfile:

<!--  Get property locationName. -->
<target name="config">
    <echo message="${ear.project.name}" />
    <getProjectData projectName="${ear.project.name}" />
</target>

I am not quite sure what the problem is here because the error message seems not helpful. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

I believe getProjectData is an IBM extension to ant. Like you, I had a similar error, but I was able to get it working after ensuring the Run in the same JRE as the workspace option was enabled (which you can find by right-clicking the build file, run-as, Ant Build..., and selecting the option on the JRE tab).

I discovered the solution on the IBM info center:

The Run in the same JRE as the workspace option enables the classpath of the workbench to access the additional Ant tasks that perform operations that are specific to the workbench, such as projectImport, projectBuild, workspaceBuild, ejbDeploy, or earExport. If your Ant build script uses any Ant tasks that perform workbench operations, verify that you selected the Run in the same JRE as the workspace option; otherwise you might get the following error message in the Console view:

Problem: failed to create task or type <Ant task> Cause:
The name is undefined.

The build file I used looked like this:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<project name="Test" default="config" basedir=".">
    <target name="config">
        <getProjectData Basedir="${basedir}" />
        <echo message="getProjectData: projectName=${projectName}
            nature=${natureName}
            workspace=${workspaceName}
            basedir=${basedir}" />
    </target>
</project>

And output:

Buildfile: C:\DATA\java\workspace\test-java\build.xml

config:
[getProjectData] Setting projectName=test-java
[getProjectData] Retrieved following Project Data :
[getProjectData] workspaceName=C:\DATA\java\workspace
[getProjectData] natureName=Java
        [echo] getProjectData: projectName=test-java
                               nature=Java
                               workspace=C:\DATA\java\workspace
                               basedir=C:\DATA\java\workspace\test-java
BUILD SUCCESSFUL
Total time: 78 milliseconds