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License Plugin

Overview

Build Tools for VMware Aria utilizes the license-maven-plugin as a production-ready solution for managing licenses. The plugin is activated during the project build phase if the license_data/licenses.properties file exists in the project's root directory. Upon activation, it generates a license file and a license header using the templates provided in the license_data/ folder.

Usage

Generating a Project with Custom Licensing

You must provide the following additional parameters when creating a new project:

  • licenseUrl
    • This parameter has a default value of null.
    • When configured, the license URL is included in the new project's pom.xml description. The content found at the URL is saved as a license template file and utilized during the project's build phase.
  • licenseHeader
    • Valid values: Either raw text or a valid URL.
    • If set: The provided text or the content from the URL is stored in a license_header template. The contents of this file are then used to populate the license header of each code file during the project's build phase.
    • If not set: The system defaults to using "Copyright [yyyy] [name of copyright owner]" for the license_header.
  • licenseTechnicalPreview
    • If set: The default VMware Technical Preview license is applied to the generated project. When this flag is used, all previously mentioned properties (licenseUrl and licenseHeader) are ignored.

Command-Line Examples

Standard Custom Licensing Example: 

mvn archetype:generate \
    -DinteractiveMode=false \
    -DarchetypeGroupId=com.vmware.pscoe.o11n.archetypes \
    -DarchetypeArtifactId=package-actions-archetype \
    -DarchetypeVersion= # (1)! \
    -DgroupId=com.company.bu # (2)! \
    -DartifactId=project.type # (3)! \
    -DlicenseUrl=https://example.com/license \
    -DlicenseHeader="Example License Header"

  1. This parameter is optional. Default value is 2.38.1. Note that archetype contents change so usually an up-to-date version is preferred.
  2. The groupId in Maven is a distinctive identifier specifically used for a project. It acts as a namespace, ensuring that project names don't clash with each other. It is recommended to choose a groupId that reflects your organization or project.
  3. The artifactId is a unique identifier for a specific project or module within a project. It represents the name of the artifact that is generated by the project. It is recommended to choose a artifactId that reflects the project type.

Technical Preview License Example: 

mvn archetype:generate \
    -DinteractiveMode=false \
    -DarchetypeGroupId=com.vmware.pscoe.o11n.archetypes \
    -DarchetypeArtifactId=package-actions-archetype \
    -DarchetypeVersion= # (1)! \
    -DgroupId=com.company.bu # (2)! \
    -DartifactId=project.type # (3)! \
    -DlicenseTechnicalPreview

  1. This parameter is optional. Default value is 2.38.1. Note that archetype contents change so usually an up-to-date version is preferred.
  2. The groupId in Maven is a distinctive identifier specifically used for a project. It acts as a namespace, ensuring that project names don't clash with each other. It is recommended to choose a groupId that reflects your organization or project.
  3. The artifactId is a unique identifier for a specific project or module within a project. It represents the name of the artifact that is generated by the project. It is recommended to choose a artifactId that reflects the project type.

Generating Licenses Manually

If the maven-license-plugin is active, running mvn install automatically generates the license file and headers. You can also manually generate a third-party license list by executing mvn license:add-third-party -Dlicense.useMissingFile. For additional usage details, refer to the official MojoHaus documentation.

Output Examples

Generated Header in a .js File: 

/*
* Example License
* %%
* Copyright (C) 2020 VMWARE
* %%
*/
/**
* Write a brief description of the purpose of the action.
* @param {number} x - describe each parameter as in JSDoc format.
* @param {number} y - you can use different vRO types.
* @returns {number} - describe the return type as well
*/
(function (x, y) {
    return x + y;
});

Generated Content in pom.xml: 

...
<description>
  This package is licensed under https://example.com/license
</description>
...
<licenses>
  <license>
    <url>[https://example.com/license](https://example.com/license)</url>
  </license>
</licenses>
...

Customizing the maven-license-plugin

You can customize the plugin's behavior by modifying its properties within the project's pom.xml. The default configuration values are as follows:

<properties>
    <license.licenseName>_license</license.licenseName>
    <license.encoding>UTF-8</license.encoding>
    <license.licenseResolver>${project.baseUri}license_data</license.licenseResolver>
    <license.licenceFile>${basedir}/LICENSE</license.licenceFile>
    <license.thirdPartyFilename>THIRD-PARTY</license.thirdPartyFilename>
    <license.useMissingFile>true</license.useMissingFile>
    <license.organizationName>VMWARE</license.organizationName>
    <license.excludedScopes>test</license.excludedScopes>
    <license.excludedArtifacts>maven-surefire-plugin</license.excludedArtifacts>
    <license.excludeTransitiveDependencies>true</license.excludeTransitiveDependencies>
    <license.canUpdateCopyright>true</license.canUpdateCopyright>
    <license.canUpdateDescription>true</license.canUpdateDescription>
    <license.includes>**/*.js,**/*.ts</license.includes>
    <license.excludes></license.excludes>
</properties>
For more details, see the maven-license-plugin page.