Source File Copyright Conventions and Guidelines

Every source code file in our code bases (whether it’s for Meridian or another project) should have a comment block at the top which includes copyright information, followed by a license portion. The copyright portion looks like this for a Java source file that is part of the main Meridian code base:

1 /*******************************************************************************
 2 * This file is part of OpenNMS(R).
 3 *
 4 * Copyright (C) 2009-2014 The OpenNMS Group, Inc.
 5 * OpenNMS(R) is Copyright (C) 1999-2014 The OpenNMS Group, Inc.
 6 *
 7 * OpenNMS(R) is a registered trademark of The OpenNMS Group, Inc.

Lines 4 and 5 in the example contain the copyright dates. Line 4 is specific to the current file. Line 5 applies to the code base as a larger work. Developers may need to update one or both lines any time they make changes to a file.

Here are the two lines with identifiers for the years in brackets to help with the matrix that illustrates what should change in different scenarios.

1 * Copyright (C) 2009[A]-2014[B] The OpenNMS Group, Inc.
2 * OpenNMS(R) is Copyright (C) 1999[C]-2014[D] The OpenNMS Group, Inc.

The following matrix assumes that the developer is updating the file in the year 2023 (Gregorian calendar). When year B or D are empty, the dash after the year is not required, as in the following:

1 * Copyright (C) 2023 The OpenNMS Group, Inc.
2 * OpenNMS(R) is Copyright (C) 2023 The OpenNMS Group, Inc.
Source file copyright matrix

| === | Scenario | Year A | Year B | Year C | Year D

| Adding a new file to the OpenNMS code base | 2023 | (empty) | 1999 | 2023

| Updating an existing file in the OpenNMS code base, if that file was added in 2004 | 2004 | 2023 | 1999 | 2023

| Adding a new file to a code base created the same year | 2023 | (empty) | 2023 | (empty)

| Updating an existing file in a code base created the same year | 2023 | (empty) | 2023 | (empty) | ===