How do I set up my JavaFX project as a Gradle build? - eclipse

Question

I've created a new JavaFX project via the e(fx)clipse plugin, then staged and committed to Git. Following that I tried to run it and got a 'class not found' error - needed to add JavaFX to the --module-path in VM arguments. But it still won't run:
Error: Could not find or load main class Files\Java\AdoptOpenJDK\javafx-sdk-13.0.2\lib
Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: Files\Java\AdoptOpenJDK\javafx-sdk-13.0.2\lib
Then I noticed that I have no build files in the project tree - no pom.xml or build.gradle, etc.
I decided to build with Gradle (previously only used Maven). After a lot of hunting on the net I did the following:
Project context menu -> Configure -> Add Gradle nature (this didn't visibly do anything, but the option is no longer available).
In the Gradle Tasks view, run init. (This ran fine until it got to Execute setupProjectLayout for :init. This got stuck and I let it sit for about 20 mins, but there was no activity (checked task manager to confirm)).
There must be something fundamental that I'm missing here, surely it shouldn't be this difficult. How can I get this project to build in Gradle?

Answer 1

The Gradle init task is an interactive task to generate a new Gradle project. If you run it from the IDE but have no way to provide answers to the prompts from Gradle, it will indeed wait forever on an input.

Answer 2

You do not need a CLI for input.
After you run the gradle task in the "Gradle Tasks" view you switch to the "Console" view and you are presented with the questions by gradle init. You answer those questions and finish the task.
Working Directory: /path/to/your/project/thenewgradleproject
Gradle user home: /home/user/.gradle
Gradle Distribution: Gradle wrapper from target build
Gradle Version: 6.8
Java Home: /usr/lib/jvm/java-11-openjdk-amd64
JVM Arguments: None
Program Arguments: None
Build Scans Enabled: false
Offline Mode Enabled: false
Gradle Tasks: init
> Task :wrapper UP-TO-DATE
Select type of project to generate:
1: basic
2: application
3: library
4: Gradle plugin
Enter selection (default: basic) [1..4]
> Task :init
Select build script DSL:
1: Groovy
2: Kotlin
Enter selection (default: Groovy) [1..2]
Project name (default: thenewgradleproject):
> Task :init
Get more help with your project: Learn more about Gradle by exploring our samples at https://docs.gradle.org/6.8/samples
BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 53s
2 actionable tasks: 1 executed, 1 up-to-date