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BUILDING.md

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+# Building PlantUML with Gradle
+
+Thank you for your interest in contributing to PlantUML! This guide will help you build the PlantUML project using Gradle.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+Ensure that you have the following installed on your system:
+
+- [Java Development Kit (JDK)](https://jdk.java.net/) - version 8 or newer
+- [Gradle](https://gradle.org/install/) - version 7.0 or newer
+- [Git](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Getting-Started-Installing-Git) - to clone the repository and manage the version control
+
+## Getting the Source Code
+
+Clone the PlantUML repository to your local system. You can clone the repository by running the following command in your terminal or command prompt:
+
+```sh
+git clone https://github.com/plantuml/plantuml.git
+```
+
+Navigate to the project root directory:
+
+```sh
+cd plantuml
+```
+
+## Building the Project
+
+To build the project, run the following command from the project root directory:
+
+```sh
+gradle build
+```
+
+This command will build the project and create the necessary output files in the `build` directory.
+
+## Running Tests
+
+To run the tests included with the project, use the following command:
+
+```sh
+gradle test
+```
+
+## Creating a JAR File
+
+To create a JAR file of the PlantUML project, run the following command:
+
+```sh
+gradle jar
+```
+
+The JAR file will be created in the `build/libs` directory.
+
+## Contributing
+
+After successfully building the project, you are ready to start contributing to PlantUML! If you have any changes to contribute, please submit a pull request through the [PlantUML GitHub repository](https://github.com/plantuml/plantuml).
+
+## Additional Resources
+
+- [PlantUML Official Website](https://plantuml.com/)
+- [Gradle User Guide](https://docs.gradle.org/current/userguide/userguide.html)
+- [Java Development Kit (JDK) Documentation](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/11/)
+
+## Getting Help
+
+If you encounter any issues while building the project, feel free to ask for help on the [PlantUML Community Forum](https://forum.plantuml.net/) or open an issue on the [GitHub repository](https://github.com/plantuml/plantuml/issues).
+
+Thank you for contributing to PlantUML!