Creative Commons (CC) Legal Tools Application. This repository contains the application that manages the license tools and public domain tools (static HTML, internationalization and localization files, etc.). It consumes and generates data in the creativecommons/cc-legal-tools-data repository.
This project is not intended to serve the license and deed pages directly. Though if it's deployed on a public server it could do that, performance would probably not be acceptable.
Instead, a command line tool can be used to save all the rendered HTML pages for deeds and legal code as files. Then those files are used as part of the real creativecommons.org site, just served as static files. See details farther down.
For the parent project for the entire creativecommons.org site (of which this project is a component, see creativecommons/project_creativecommons.org.
- Python 3.9 (For parity with Debian GNU/Linux 11 [bullseye])
- Django 3.2
Both versions are specified in the Pipfile
.
The creativecommons/cc-legal-tools-data project repository should be cloned into a directory adjacent to this one:
PARENT_DIR
├── cc-legal-tools-app
└── cc-legal-tools-data
If it is not cloned into the default location, the Django
DATA_REPOSITORY_DIR
django configuration setting, or the
DATA_REPOSITORY_DIR
environment variable can be used to configure its
location.
Use the following instructions to start the project with Docker compose.
- Ensure the Data Repository, above, is in place
- Install Docker (Install Docker Engine | Docker Documentation)
- Ensure you are the top level of directory where you cloned this repository (where
manage.py
is) - Create Django local settings file
cp cc_legal_tools/settings/local.example.py cc_legal_tools/settings/local.py
- Build the containers
docker compose build
- Run the containers
docker compose up
- app (127.0.0.1:8005): this Django
application
- Any changes made to Python will be detected and rebuilt transparently as long as the development server is running.
- static (127.0.0.1:8006): a static web server serving creativecommons/cc-legal-tools-data/docs.
- app (127.0.0.1:8005): this Django
application
- Run database migrations
docker compose exec app ./manage.py migrate
- Clear data in the database
docker compose exec app ./manage.py clear_license_data
- Load legacy HTML in the database
docker compose exec app ./manage.py load_html_files
- Development Environment
- Ensure the Data Repository, above, is in place
- Install dependencies
- Linux:
sudo apt-get install python3.9 python3.9-dev python3-pip
pip3 install pipenv
- macOS: via Homebrew:
brew install pipenv python@3.9
- Linux:
- Install Python environment and modules via pipenv to create a
virtualenv
- Linux:
pipenv install --dev --python /usr/bin/python3.9
- macOS: via Homebrew:
pipenv install --dev --python /usr/local/opt/python@3.9/libexec/bin/python
- Linux:
- Install pre-commit hooks
pipenv run pre-commit install
- Create Django local settings file
cp cc_legal_tools/settings/local.example.py cc_legal_tools/settings/local.py
- Create project database
- Linux:
- macOS:
- Linux:
- Load database schema
- Run development server (127.0.0.1:8005)
- Any changes made to Python will be detected and rebuilt transparently as
long as the development server is running.
[Github] (creativecommons#303)
Additional context
CC Staff do not use Windows for development.
- Any changes made to Python will be detected and rebuilt transparently as
long as the development server is running.
[Github] (creativecommons#303)
NOTE: The rest of the documentation assumes Docker. If you are using a
manual setup, use pipenv run
instead of docker compose exec app
for the
commands below.
- Python Guidelines — Creative Commons Open Source
- Black: the uncompromising Python code formatter
- Coverage.py: Code coverage measurement for Python
- Docker
- flake8: a python tool that glues together pep8, pyflakes, mccabe, and third-party plugins to check the style and quality of some python code.
- isort: A Python utility / library to sort imports.
- pre-commit: A framework for managing and maintaining multi-language pre-commit hooks.
Best run before every commit:
./dev/coverage.sh
- Run coverage tests and report./dev/tools.sh
- Run Python code tools (isort, black, flake8)
Esoteric and dangerous:
./dev/concatenatemessages.sh
- Concatenate legacy ccEngine translations into cc-legal-tools-app- rarely used (only after source strings are updated)
./dev/resetdb.sh
- Reset Django application database data (!!DANGER!!)- usually only helpful if you're doing model/schema work
./dev/updatemessages.sh
- Run Django Management nofuzzy_makemessages with helpful options (including excluding legalcode) and compilemessages
The coverage tests and report are run as part of pre-commit and as a GitHub Action. To run it manually:
- Ensure the Data Repository, above, is in place
- Ensure [Docker Compose Setup](#docker compose-setup), above, is complete
- Coverage test
- Coverage report
If you encounter an error: Error building trees
error from pre-commit when
you commit, try adding your files (git add <FILES>
) prior to committing them.
The following CC projects are used to achieve a consistent look and feel:
- creativecommons/cc-global-components: Vue.js components for consistent navigation and branding across Creative Commons web properties
- creativecommons/vocabulary-fonts: Typefaces that lend personality to the web facing Creative Commons
- creativecommons/vocabulary-styles: A cohesive design system to unite the web facing Creative Commons
Dependencies:
- axios/axios: Promise based HTTP client for the browser and node.js
- jgthms/bulma: Modern CSS framework based on Flexbox
- vuejs/core: 🖖 Vue.js is a progressive, incrementally-adoptable JavaScript framework for building UI on the web.
The legal tools metadata is in a database. The metadata tracks which legal tools exist, their translations, their ports, and their characteristics like what they permit, require, and prohibit.
The metadata can be downloaded by visiting URL path:
127.0.0.1:8005
/licenses/metadata.yaml
There are two main models (Django terminology for tables) in
legal_tools/models.py
:
LegalCode
Tool
A Tool can be identified by a unit
(ex. by
, by-nc-sa
, devnations
) which
is a proxy for the complete set of permissions, requirements, and prohibitions;
a version
(ex. 4.0
, 3.0)
, and an optional jurisdiction
for ports. So we
might refer to the tool by it's identifier "BY 3.0 AM" which would be the
3.0 version of the BY license terms as ported to the Armenia jurisdiction. For
additional information see: Legal Tools Namespace -
creativecommons/cc-legal-tools-data: CC Legal Tools Data (static HTML, language
files, etc.).
There are three places legal code text could be:
- gettext files (
.po
and.mo
) in the creativecommons/cc-legal-tools-data repository (legal tools with full translation support):- 4.0 Licenses
- CC0
- django template
(
legalcode_licenses_3.0_unported.html
):- Unported 3.0 Licenses (English-only)
html
field (in theLegalCode
model):- Everything else
The text that's in gettext files can be translated via Transifex at Creative Commons localization. For additional information the Django translation domains / Transifex resources, see How the license translation is implemented, below.
Documentation:
The process of getting the text into the site varies by legal tool.
Note that once the site is up and running in production, the data in the site will become the canonical source, and the process described here should not need to be repeated after that.
The implementation is the Django management command load_html_files
, which
reads from the legacy HTML legal code files in the
creativecommons/cc-legal-tools-data repository, and populates the
database records and translation files.
load_html_files
uses BeautifulSoup4 to parse the legacy HTML legal
code:
import_zero_license_html
for CC0 Public Domain tool- HTML is handled specificially (using tag ids and classes) to populate translation strings and to be used with specific HTML formatting when displayed via template
import_by_40_license_html
for 4.0 License tools- HTML is handled specificially (using tag ids and classes) to populate translation strings and to be used with specific HTML formatting when displayed via a template
import_by_30_unported_license_html
for unported 3.0 License tools (English-only)- HTML is handled specificially to be used with specific HTML formatting when displayed via a template
simple_import_license_html
for everything else- HTML is handled generically; only the title and license body are
identified. The body is stored in the
html
field of theLegalCode
model
- HTML is handled generically; only the title and license body are
identified. The body is stored in the
This process will read the HTML files from the specified directory, populate
LegalCode
and Tool
models, and create .po
files in
creativecommons/cc-legal-tools-data.
- Ensure the Data Repository, above, is in place
- Ensure [Docker Compose Setup](#docker compose-setup), above, is complete
- Clear data in the database
docker compose exec app ./manage.py clear_license_data
- Load legacy HTML in the database
docker compose exec app ./manage.py load_html_files
- Optionally (and only as appropriate):
- commit
.po
file changes in creativecommons/cc-legal-tools-data - Translation Update Process, below
- Generate Static Files, below
- commit
- Beautiful Soup Documentation — Beautiful Soup 4 documentation
- Quick start guide — polib documentation
To upload/download translation files to/from Transifex, you'll need an account
there with access to these translations. Then follow the Authentication -
Transifex API v3: to get an API token, and set
TRANSIFEX["API_TOKEN"]
in your environment with its value.
The creativecommons/cc-legal-tools-data repository must be cloned
next to this cc-legal-tools-app
repository. (It can be elsewhere, then you need
to set DATA_REPOSITORY_DIR
to its location.) Be sure to clone using a URL
that starts with git@github...
and not https://github...
, or you won't be
able to push to it. Also see Data Repository, above.
In production, the check_for_translation_updates
management command should be
run hourly. See Check for Translation
Updates, below.
Also see Publishing changes to git repo, below.
Babel is used for localization information.
Documentation:
Django Translation uses two sets of Gettext Files in the creativecommons/cc-legal-tools-data repository (the Data Repository, above). See that repository for detailed information and definitions.
Documentation:
- Translation | Django documentation | Django
- Transifex API
⚠️ This functionality is currently disabled. The hourly run ofcheck_for_translation_updates
looks to see if any of the translation files in Transifex have newer last modification times than we know about. It performs the following process (which can also be done manually:
- Ensure the Data Repository, above, is in place
- Within the creativecommons/cc-legal-tools-data (the Data
Repository):
- Checkout or create the appropriate branch.
- For example, if a French translation file for BY 4.0 has changed, the
branch name will be
cc4-fr
.
- For example, if a French translation file for BY 4.0 has changed, the
branch name will be
- Download the updated
.po
file from Transifex - Do the Translation Update Process (below)
- This is important and easy to forget, but without it, Django will keep using the old translations
- Commit that change and push it upstream.
- Checkout or create the appropriate branch.
- Within this
cc-legal-tools-app
repository:- For each branch that has been updated, Generate Static Files (below). Use the options to update git and push the changes.
- GitPython Documentation — GitPython documentation
- Requests: HTTP for Humans™ — Requests documentation
This Django Admin command must be run any time the .po
files are created or
changed.
- Ensure the Data Repository, above, is in place
- Ensure [Docker Compose Setup](#docker compose-setup), above, is complete
- Compile translation messages (update
.mo
files)docker compose exec app ./manage.py compilemessages
Generating static files updates the static files in the doc
directory of the
creativecommons/cc-legal-tools-data repository (the Data
Repository, above).
This process will write the HTML files in the cc-legal-tools-data clone
directory under docs/
. It will not commit the changes (--nogit
) and will
not push any commits (--nopush
is implied by --nogit
).
- Ensure the Data Repository, above, is in place
- Ensure [Docker Compose Setup](#docker compose-setup), above, is complete
- Compile translation messages (update
.mo
files)docker compose exec app ./manage.py publish --nogit --branch=main
When the site is deployed, to enable pushing and pulling the licenses data repo
with GitHub, create an ssh deploy key for the cc-legal-tools-data repo with
write permissions, and put the private key file (not password protected)
somewhere safe (owned by www-data
if on a server), and readable only by its
owner (0o400). Then in settings, make TRANSLATION_REPOSITORY_DEPLOY_KEY
be
the full path to that deploy key file.