Add licensing guidelines to ReadtheDocs

docs/source/conf.py

@@ -14,15 +14,24 @@
 # -- General configuration ---------------------------------------------------
 # https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/configuration.html#general-configuration
 
-extensions = []
+extensions = [
+    'myst_parser',
+    'sphinx.ext.autodoc',
+    'sphinx.ext.napoleon',
+    'sphinx.ext.viewcode',
+]
 
 templates_path = ['_templates']
 exclude_patterns = []
+source_suffix = {
+    '.rst': 'restructuredtext',
+    '.md': 'markdown',
+}
 
 
 
 # -- Options for HTML output -------------------------------------------------
 # https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/configuration.html#options-for-html-output
 
-html_theme = 'alabaster'
+html_theme = 'sphinx_rtd_theme'
 html_static_path = ['_static']

docs/source/index.rst

@@ -1,20 +1,9 @@
-.. developer-guide documentation master file, created by
-   sphinx-quickstart on Fri Apr 26 14:06:50 2024.
-   You can adapt this file completely to your liking, but it should at least
-   contain the root `toctree` directive.
+LASP Developer's Guide
+======================
 
-Welcome to developer-guide's documentation!
-===========================================
+Welcome to the LASP Developer's Guide!
 
 .. toctree::
-   :maxdepth: 2
-   :caption: Contents:
+   :maxdepth: 1
 
-
-
-Indices and tables
-==================
-
-* :ref:`genindex`
-* :ref:`modindex`
-* :ref:`search`
+   licensing

docs/source/licensing.md

@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+# Licensing
+
+Licenses provide legally binding guidelines for the use and distribution of software and data. Licenses can be
+proprietary or free and open source.
+
+## Purpose for this guideline
+In Data Systems, many of our code repositories are open source. An open source license gives others explicit permission
+to use any part of the code legally. This guide provides options for choosing the right license for your project.
+
+
+## Options for this guideline
+
+### Software
+
+To avoid copyright concerns, it is recommended that:
+1. Any software created by LASP is properly licensed to provide sufficient guidance on their usage
+2. Any software used by LASP are licensed and used accordingly to protect against potential legal action from the owner
+   of that intellectual property
+
+The following table is taken from [The Turing Way](https://the-turing-way.netlify.app/reproducible-research/licensing)
+and shows the different categories of licenses available and the types of licenses that support their respective
+requirements.
+
+![The different categories of licenses](_static/licenses.png)
+
+Free Licenses are classified as Copyleft or Permissive. Copyleft licenses (GPL-style) say that all derivative works must
+preserve the same rights as the original work. So, if it is an open-source program currently, you can NOT use that code
+in your closed-source program. Because of this, many people don’t consider this as “open” as the more permissive
+licenses that would allow someone else to use their code in a commercial closed-source product.
+
+In general, choose a permissive license for your project in Data Systems.
+
+Some fairly common options:
+
+* [BSD-3](https://opensource.org/license/BSD-3-Clause) - Commonly used in the Python scientific community
+* [MIT](https://opensource.org/license/MIT) - Short and sweet, very similar to BSD-3
+* [Apache-2](https://opensource.org/license/apache-2-0) - Commonly used in the Java/Scala communities
+
+
+Some examples from groups at LASP:
+
+* MIT: <https://github.com/SWxTREC/enlilviz>
+* Apache-2: <https://github.com/latis-data/latis3/>
+
+
+*NOTE: There is a NASA Open Source License: <https://opensource.gsfc.nasa.gov/nosa.php>; However, it DOES NOT satisfy
+the Free Software Foundation’s definition of open source.*
+
+### Data
+A creative commons license can be used to restrict who can use data and how they use it.
+
+Creative Commons: <https://creativecommons.org/choose/>
+
+Data rights qualifiers
+* BY – Credit must be given to you, the creator.
+* NC – Only noncommercial use of your work is permitted.
+* ND – No derivatives or adaptations of your work are permitted.
+* SA – Adaptations must be shared under the same terms.
+
+
+You can mix and match the qualifiers on the data rights depending on what limitations you want to enact on the data
+you’re distributing/producing.
+
+* CC0 1.0 - dedicate your work to the public domain, no copyright
+* CC BY 4.0 - Anyone can use the data/work, even for commercial purposes, but credit must be given to you
+* CC BY-NC 4.0 – Anyone can use the data/work, but NOT for commercial purposes (i.e. others can’t use your work to sell
+                 their software or product)
+* CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 – Anyone can use the data/work, but NOT for commercial purposes and NO derivate works (adaptations).
+* CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 – Anyone can use the data/work, but NOT for commercial purposes and the work must be shared alike
+                    (SA), meaning it must have the same terms of use.
+
+
+## How to apply this guideline
+
+### Software
+1. CU Venture Partners (CU lawyers) recommend using BSD-3 license.
+2. Make sure that you put the license file in the root directory and call it `LICENSE` or `LICENSE.md` so that the code
+   repository (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket) can immediately identify what license your code is released under and let
+   contributors know.
+3. Fill out the copyright, noting that it is NOT LASP, but *Regents of CU. Copyright (c) YYYY, Regents of the University
+   of Colorado*
+
+
+## Useful Links
+
+* [Public license selector](https://ufal.github.io/public-license-selector/)
+* [Choose a license](https://choosealicense.com/)
+* [Open Source Initiative (OSI)](https://opensource.org/licenses)
+* [The Turing Way overview of licensing](https://the-turing-way.netlify.app/reproducible-research/licensing)
+* [Free and Open Source License Comparison chart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_free_and_open-source_software_licenses)