What is the main role and tasks of the Gradle build automation system in the development process?

Gradle is a build automation system that manages the compilation, testing, packaging, and deployment of applications.

Main tasks of Gradle:

• Automate the build process to avoid manual errors.
• Manage project dependencies.
• Support multi-module projects.
• Integrate with version control and CI/CD systems.
• Allow customization and extension via Groovy or Kotlin scripts.

Example of a simple build.gradle for a Java project:

plugins {
    id 'java'
}

dependencies {
    implementation 'org.apache.commons:commons-lang3:3.12.0'
    testImplementation 'junit:junit:4.13.2'
}

This file describes how to build the project and which libraries to use.