I expect most Java projects to be built with mvn package or gradle build. It doesn’t mean it’s always that simple. Simple projects can be built simply. Complex ones are never handled by 1 tool. There are plenty of examples in Rust and Go where people have to use make or just.

However, gradle build or mvn install won’t select a proper version of Java to build your code. It won’t even tell you are building with wrong version. Rust, Go, even Scala SBT will.

Normally you just define source and compile target and then use whatever JDK supports them. Dependency on exact version is a rare thing. Neither gradle nor Maven are independent native tools, both run on the same JVM they use, so they are not even aware of your specific OS configuration and available JDKs. But they will certainly tell you if your JDK does not support your source or compile target.

This has been one of my pet peeves on our projects; how simply can I build a project and run it. Ideally with just Java and git, can I download, build and run. Throw in some projects with native libraries, can I build with compiler tools installed but not building 5 other projects first with environment variables pointing to locations of code.