Feature request: add license ID support to identify-cli

[ngie-eign]

It would improve the usability of the identify-cli utility if it could identify licenses as well as "file types" by tag. Having it be a first-class capability would remove the need for creating a custom package to integrate this support or coming up with python one-liners having to do similar.

[asottile]

maybe I could see this as a separate commandline -- since the license identification stuff isn't ~quite the same as a "tag" in the identify tag sense? but I suspect your usage requirements in #603 (comment) might mean it's better done as a separate tool wrapping that other library instead?

[ngie-eign]

I'm kind of of the opinion that something like another CLI/project (I'm more than happy to start it) could incorporate your algorithm, as well as other SPDX tools, instead of in the identify package. Would something like that interest you?

[asottile]

personally I don't really want anything to do with spdx since I consider it clutter but feel free to make your own thing

[ngie-eign]

@asottile : I'm not suggesting identify should do that -- just following the Unix philosophy of one tool should do one thing well instead of 2+ things to varying degrees of success (it helps avoid complexity and enables tools to be more sustainable/more performant). The identify project's primary goal is identifying file types using python bindings, similar to the file utility/libmagic. Maybe it should stick to that and not handle licensing identification? That could be the goal of another project which I'm more than happy to spearhead and invest my time in doing.

[asottile]

yeah I mean feel free to make whatever! no need to ask me lol