I agree. I was talking about the needless complexity of Gradle and Groovy in handling a build, not the inherent complexity of a build itself. Builds can easily

I agree. I was talking about the needless complexity of Gradle and Groovy in handling a build, not the inherent complexity of a build itself. Builds can easily be described declaratively, as shown by Make and Ant, and this was a major step forward for the science of build descriptions. Gradle and Groovy, however, provide a procedural description of builds, with the apparent intention of generating technical debt in user IT land, and then selling them consultancy services and courses.