Major build overhaul, switching from maven to ant as primary build sy…

…stem.

.gitignore

@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 # general stuff
 .DS_Store
+*.pyc
+
+# build override files
+local.properties
 
 # Maven artifacts
 target/

README.md

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+OpenGeo Suite README
+====================
+
+These instructions describe how to build platform independent components of OpenGeo Suite.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+The following base software packages are required.
+
+* [Java Development Kit (JDK)](http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javasebusiness/downloads/java-archive-downloads-javase6-419409.html) - 1.6+
+* [Apache Ant](http://ant.apache.org/bindownload.cgi) - 1.8+
+* [Apache Ivy](http://ant.apache.org/ivy/download.cgi) - 2.3+
+* [Git](http://git-scm.com/) - 1.7.10+*
+
+Some modules require additional packages:
+
+* [Apache Maven](http://maven.apache.org/download.html) - 3.0+
+* [JSTools](https://github.com/whitmo/jstools) - Latest
+* [Sphinx](http://sphinx.pocoo.org/) - 1.0+ (the full build requires LaTeX support)
+
+Ensure that all the above are installed so that the associated executables are on the 
+`PATH` of the user building the suite. 
+
+## Quickstart
+
+1. Clone the repository:
+
+        % git clone git://github.com/opengeo/suite.git suite
+        % cd suite
+
+1. Initialize submodule dependencies:
+
+        % git submodule update --init --recursive
+
+1. Do a full build:
+
+        % ant
+
+1. Or build the module of your choice:
+
+        % cd docs
+        % ant 
+
+## Build System Overview
+
+The suite repository is made up a number of modules (ie projects). During development 
+typically modules are built individually as opposed to all at once. The primary build 
+tool for suite is Ant. For some modules the ant script delegates to the modules native build tool such as Maven or Sphinx. 
+
+All top level modules have a `build.xml` that defines the following targets:
+
+1. `build` - Builds the project, the result of this is something deployable in the development environment. This target is the default.
+1. `clean` - Cleans the project deleting all build artifacts. 
+1. `assemble` - Assembles the project into a zip archive suitable for deployment in production. This is the artifact consumed by installer builders. 
+1. `publish` - Publishes the zip archive to a final location.
+1. `all` - Runs all the above targets.
+
+Building for development purposes typically looks like:
+
+    ant clean build
+
+Building for deployment purposes typically looks like:
+
+    ant clean build assemble
+
+Or to build everything:
+
+    ant all
+
+The [build](build) directory contains common build files used by modules.
+
+ * [common.xml](build/common.xml) - Common ant targets used by module 
+ build files. Every module build file imports this file as the first step.
+ * [build.properties](build/build.properties) - Default build properties that can
+ be overridden on a global or per module basis.
+
+### Build Properties
+
+Many aspects of the suite build such as file locations, executable names, etc... are 
+parameterized into build properties. The default [build.properties](build/build.properties)
+contains a list of default values. Often these default properties must be overridden to 
+cater to the environment (eg. Windows vs Unix) or to cater to specifics of a particular module. 
+
+There are two ways to override build properties: 
+
+1. The first is to specify them directly to the ant build command with the Java system property (-D) syntax. For example:
+
+          % ant -Dsuite.build_cat=release build
+
+1. Creating a file named `local.properties` either at the global level or at the module level. The global `local.properties` is located in the [build](build) directory next to 
+`build.properties`. Module specific `local.properties` files are located next to the module `build.xml` file. Naturally the module specific local properties file overrides properties from its global counterpart. 
+
+Using any combination of the above method it should never be necessary to modify the `build.properties` file directly. 
+
+## Modules
+
+The suite repository is composed of the following modules:
+
+* [apps](apps/README.md)
+* [dashboard](dashboard/README.md)
+* [docs](docs/README.md)
+* [geoexplorer](geoexplorer/README.md)
+* [geoserver](geoserver/README.md)
+* [geowebcache](geowebcache/README.md)
+* [jetty](jetty/README.md)
+* [recipes](recipes/README.md)
+* [webapp-sdk](sdk/README.md)
+
+Consult the module README files for module specific information. 

apps/README.md

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+# Suite Apps
+
+This module is a container for deploying client side applications. 

apps/build.xml

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+<project name="apps" default="build">
+    <import file="../build/common.xml"/>
+
+    <property name="war.file" value="apps.war"/>
+    <property name="war.path" value="target/${war.file}"/>
+
+    <target name="build" depends="init" description="Builds project">
+        <delete file="${war.path}"/>
+        <jar destfile="${war.path}">
+            <fileset dir="${basedir}">
+                <exclude name="target"/>
+                <exclude name="build.xml"/>
+            </fileset>
+        </jar>
+    </target>
+
+    <target name="clean" depends="destroy" description="Destroys project"/>
+
+    <target name="assemble" description="Assembles project artifact">
+        <antcall target="assemble-artifact">
+            <param name="includes" value="${war.file}"/>
+        </antcall>
+    </target>
+
+    <target name="publish" depends="publish-artifact"/>
+</project>