MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Automated Processing Workflows as and with Free Software

skreutzer · 04-07-2014, 02:08 PM

Actually the toolset consists of several individual standalone programs written in Java (in order to be portable over computer architecture and operating system environments), and the non-portable shell scripts are currently used to glue them together.

Those tools are already released, because I do open development in a github repository (hopefully not blocked in China):

https://github.com/skreutzer/automat...tal_publishing

I currently don't provide pre-built packages yet. If you're interested in trying those tools out, you have the option to build the executables yourself (an installed JavaSDK would be required), or I could release such (an installed JavaVM would be required). Further, the shell scripts might not be portable across all kinds of operating system environments, but you could still use the tools manually. For PDF generation, a LaTeX installation is required, since LaTeX is the only supported backend up to now (XSL-FO and iText may follow).

The software is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License version 3 or any later version, so you're permitted to do:

Run the program without any restrictions.
Modify and customize the program, as long as nobody else uses it except you.
Distribute the program to other people, commercially or non-commercially, as long as you ensure that receivers can obtain the source code.
Modify the program and distribute the modified version to other people, commercially or non-commercially, as long as you ensure that receivers can obtain the source code, including all modifications.
Use the program, with or without modifications you made to it, together with extensions you wrote for yourself, which you can release under a license of your choice, but I want to strongly encourage you to use GNU AGPL 3 or later.
Run the program on a server which is accessible through a network in order to provide an online service, as long as you ensure that receivers can obtain the source code of the program you're running (with or without modifications).

You are prohibited from doing:

Distributing executables without providing access to the corresponding source code.
Removing copyright notices.
Sublicensing files which were covered by the GNU AGPL or later to other people under a different license than GNU AGPL 3 or later.
Running the program on a server which is accessible through a network without providing access to the corresponding source code you're running on that server.
Distribute the program in devices which are set up in a way that a user can't run his modified version of the program in it, while the device is generally able to load and execute custom programs.

This way, the license ensures that the software can be used to the greatest extend possible, only preventing you from actions which would violate the digital rights of other users. The license is intended to promote open collaboration and contribution to a free society, and I would really appreciate if you would improve the software, while each contribution, be it a small one or a big one, would be to the benefit of all users and developers altogether.

Please note that the current features of the software aren't special at all, they're quite common for publishing houses and institutes that use proprietary software, and that there are already much more sophisticated solutions existing under a free license:

Maybe it could be possible to interoperate with those systems, while my concept is a little different: the processing tools should also be usable outside a large and complex processing workflow, so that they can be used for small tasks as well and re-arranged with a higher flexibility for all kinds of custom and general tasks.

04-07-2014, 02:08 PM	#34
skreutzer Software Developer Posts: 190 Karma: 89000 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Germany Device: PocketBook Touch Lux 3	Actually the toolset consists of several individual standalone programs written in Java (in order to be portable over computer architecture and operating system environments), and the non-portable shell scripts are currently used to glue them together. Those tools are already released, because I do open development in a github repository (hopefully not blocked in China): https://github.com/skreutzer/automat...tal_publishing I currently don't provide pre-built packages yet. If you're interested in trying those tools out, you have the option to build the executables yourself (an installed JavaSDK would be required), or I could release such (an installed JavaVM would be required). Further, the shell scripts might not be portable across all kinds of operating system environments, but you could still use the tools manually. For PDF generation, a LaTeX installation is required, since LaTeX is the only supported backend up to now (XSL-FO and iText may follow). The software is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License version 3 or any later version, so you're permitted to do: Run the program without any restrictions. Modify and customize the program, as long as nobody else uses it except you. Distribute the program to other people, commercially or non-commercially, as long as you ensure that receivers can obtain the source code. Modify the program and distribute the modified version to other people, commercially or non-commercially, as long as you ensure that receivers can obtain the source code, including all modifications. Use the program, with or without modifications you made to it, together with extensions you wrote for yourself, which you can release under a license of your choice, but I want to strongly encourage you to use GNU AGPL 3 or later. Run the program on a server which is accessible through a network in order to provide an online service, as long as you ensure that receivers can obtain the source code of the program you're running (with or without modifications). You are prohibited from doing: Distributing executables without providing access to the corresponding source code. Removing copyright notices. Sublicensing files which were covered by the GNU AGPL or later to other people under a different license than GNU AGPL 3 or later. Running the program on a server which is accessible through a network without providing access to the corresponding source code you're running on that server. Distribute the program in devices which are set up in a way that a user can't run his modified version of the program in it, while the device is generally able to load and execute custom programs. This way, the license ensures that the software can be used to the greatest extend possible, only preventing you from actions which would violate the digital rights of other users. The license is intended to promote open collaboration and contribution to a free society, and I would really appreciate if you would improve the software, while each contribution, be it a small one or a big one, would be to the benefit of all users and developers altogether. Please note that the current features of the software aren't special at all, they're quite common for publishing houses and institutes that use proprietary software, and that there are already much more sophisticated solutions existing under a free license: Booktype by Sourcefabric Softcover Maybe it could be possible to interoperate with those systems, while my concept is a little different: the processing tools should also be usable outside a large and complex processing workflow, so that they can be used for small tasks as well and re-arranged with a higher flexibility for all kinds of custom and general tasks. Last edited by skreutzer; 04-07-2014 at 02:11 PM.