In 2000, I released the Gnu Template Generation Tools, also known as gtgt. It instantiates a set of sources that were readily prepared for being developed, compiled, and installed with the GNU ‘Autoconf/Automake’ development environment. A few years later they were passed — by new languages, techniques, and tools. But now — in the context of TDOSCA — we could revive gtgt:
What it is:
gtgt — spoken: gitty-gitty — is a set of scripts, which initialize a c/c++ project in a way, that it can directly be managed by the GNU Autotools — although one can nevertheless them under the terms of any other open or closed source license. How do you use the tools is explained in the gtgt-FAQ, which is part of every gtgt package. The Gnu Template Generation Tools have been revitalized for enabling us to create test data, that — under the leadership of the Open Chain Toolong Working Group — become part of a Test-Driven Open Source Compliance Automation.
Where you can get it:
gtgt can be downloaded from Github — by cloning the repository as usually, by downloading it as a zip file via the GitHub tools, or by downloading it from the gtgt ‑release-branch.
How do you use it:
What you may do with gtgt:
gtgt is distributed under the terms of the GPL‑3.0. But its output — the created code and the instantiated project directory including some specific gtgt-scripts may be distributed under any other open- or closed-source-license. The output is not a derivative work of gtgt, even if it has been derived from gtgt by c&p.
And in what way is this …
… part of the overarching topic FOSS Compliance? For fulfilling the requirements of FOSS licenses, we have to consider specific individual cases as well as side effects — for software, pictures, or documents. We should unhide trends and write guidelines. Above all, however, we must drive forward the automation of license fulfillment, make our licensing knowledge freely available, cast it into smaller tools, and bring it into larger systems: Because FOSS thrives on freedom through license fulfillment, large and small. That’s what also this article is about.