diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 78e70c7..c8e83e6 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+###############################################
+# C++.gitignore
+# source: https://github.com/github/gitignore
+###############################################
 # Prerequisites
 *.d
 
@@ -31,25 +35,594 @@
 *.out
 *.app
 
-# In-source build dir
-build
 
-# Python cache
+###############################################
+# Python.gitignore
+# source: https://github.com/github/gitignore
+###############################################
+# Byte-compiled / optimized / DLL files
 __pycache__/
+*.py[cod]
+*$py.class
 
-# Backup files
+# C extensions
+*.so
+
+# Distribution / packaging
+.Python
+build/
+develop-eggs/
+dist/
+downloads/
+eggs/
+.eggs/
+lib/
+lib64/
+parts/
+sdist/
+var/
+wheels/
+share/python-wheels/
+*.egg-info/
+.installed.cfg
+*.egg
+MANIFEST
+
+# PyInstaller
+#  Usually these files are written by a python script from a template
+#  before PyInstaller builds the exe, so as to inject date/other infos into it.
+*.manifest
+*.spec
+
+# Installer logs
+pip-log.txt
+pip-delete-this-directory.txt
+
+# Unit test / coverage reports
+htmlcov/
+.tox/
+.nox/
+.coverage
+.coverage.*
+.cache
+nosetests.xml
+coverage.xml
+*.cover
+*.py,cover
+.hypothesis/
+.pytest_cache/
+cover/
+
+# Translations
+*.mo
+*.pot
+
+# Django stuff:
+*.log
+local_settings.py
+db.sqlite3
+db.sqlite3-journal
+
+# Flask stuff:
+instance/
+.webassets-cache
+
+# Scrapy stuff:
+.scrapy
+
+# Sphinx documentation
+docs/_build/
+
+# PyBuilder
+.pybuilder/
+target/
+
+# Jupyter Notebook
+.ipynb_checkpoints
+
+# IPython
+profile_default/
+ipython_config.py
+
+# pyenv
+#   For a library or package, you might want to ignore these files since the code is
+#   intended to run in multiple environments; otherwise, check them in:
+# .python-version
+
+# pipenv
+#   According to pypa/pipenv#598, it is recommended to include Pipfile.lock in version control.
+#   However, in case of collaboration, if having platform-specific dependencies or dependencies
+#   having no cross-platform support, pipenv may install dependencies that don't work, or not
+#   install all needed dependencies.
+#Pipfile.lock
+
+# poetry
+#   Similar to Pipfile.lock, it is generally recommended to include poetry.lock in version control.
+#   This is especially recommended for binary packages to ensure reproducibility, and is more
+#   commonly ignored for libraries.
+#   https://python-poetry.org/docs/basic-usage/#commit-your-poetrylock-file-to-version-control
+#poetry.lock
+
+# pdm
+#   Similar to Pipfile.lock, it is generally recommended to include pdm.lock in version control.
+#pdm.lock
+#   pdm stores project-wide configurations in .pdm.toml, but it is recommended to not include it
+#   in version control.
+#   https://pdm.fming.dev/latest/usage/project/#working-with-version-control
+.pdm.toml
+.pdm-python
+.pdm-build/
+
+# PEP 582; used by e.g. github.com/David-OConnor/pyflow and github.com/pdm-project/pdm
+__pypackages__/
+
+# Celery stuff
+celerybeat-schedule
+celerybeat.pid
+
+# SageMath parsed files
+*.sage.py
+
+# Environments
+.env
+.venv
+env/
+venv/
+ENV/
+env.bak/
+venv.bak/
+
+# Spyder project settings
+.spyderproject
+.spyproject
+
+# Rope project settings
+.ropeproject
+
+# mkdocs documentation
+/site
+
+# mypy
+.mypy_cache/
+.dmypy.json
+dmypy.json
+
+# Pyre type checker
+.pyre/
+
+# pytype static type analyzer
+.pytype/
+
+# Cython debug symbols
+cython_debug/
+
+# PyCharm
+#  JetBrains specific template is maintained in a separate JetBrains.gitignore that can
+#  be found at https://github.com/github/gitignore/blob/main/Global/JetBrains.gitignore
+#  and can be added to the global gitignore or merged into this file.  For a more nuclear
+#  option (not recommended) you can uncomment the following to ignore the entire idea folder.
+#.idea/
+
+
+###############################################
+# VisualStudio.gitignore
+# source: https://github.com/github/gitignore
+###############################################
+## Ignore Visual Studio temporary files, build results, and
+## files generated by popular Visual Studio add-ons.
+##
+## Get latest from https://github.com/github/gitignore/blob/main/VisualStudio.gitignore
+
+# User-specific files
+*.rsuser
+*.suo
+*.user
+*.userosscache
+*.sln.docstates
+
+# User-specific files (MonoDevelop/Xamarin Studio)
+*.userprefs
+
+# Mono auto generated files
+mono_crash.*
+
+# Build results
+[Dd]ebug/
+[Dd]ebugPublic/
+[Rr]elease/
+[Rr]eleases/
+x64/
+x86/
+[Ww][Ii][Nn]32/
+[Aa][Rr][Mm]/
+[Aa][Rr][Mm]64/
+bld/
+[Bb]in/
+[Oo]bj/
+[Ll]og/
+[Ll]ogs/
+
+# Visual Studio 2015/2017 cache/options directory
+.vs/
+# Uncomment if you have tasks that create the project's static files in wwwroot
+#wwwroot/
+
+# Visual Studio 2017 auto generated files
+Generated\ Files/
+
+# MSTest test Results
+[Tt]est[Rr]esult*/
+[Bb]uild[Ll]og.*
+
+# NUnit
+*.VisualState.xml
+TestResult.xml
+nunit-*.xml
+
+# Build Results of an ATL Project
+[Dd]ebugPS/
+[Rr]eleasePS/
+dlldata.c
+
+# Benchmark Results
+BenchmarkDotNet.Artifacts/
+
+# .NET Core
+project.lock.json
+project.fragment.lock.json
+artifacts/
+
+# ASP.NET Scaffolding
+ScaffoldingReadMe.txt
+
+# StyleCop
+StyleCopReport.xml
+
+# Files built by Visual Studio
+*_i.c
+*_p.c
+*_h.h
+*.ilk
+*.meta
+*.obj
+*.iobj
+*.pch
+*.pdb
+*.ipdb
+*.pgc
+*.pgd
+*.rsp
+*.sbr
+*.tlb
+*.tli
+*.tlh
+*.tmp
+*.tmp_proj
+*_wpftmp.csproj
+*.log
+*.tlog
+*.vspscc
+*.vssscc
+.builds
+*.pidb
+*.svclog
+*.scc
+
+# Chutzpah Test files
+_Chutzpah*
+
+# Visual C++ cache files
+ipch/
+*.aps
+*.ncb
+*.opendb
+*.opensdf
+*.sdf
+*.cachefile
+*.VC.db
+*.VC.VC.opendb
+
+# Visual Studio profiler
+*.psess
+*.vsp
+*.vspx
+*.sap
+
+# Visual Studio Trace Files
+*.e2e
+
+# TFS 2012 Local Workspace
+$tf/
+
+# Guidance Automation Toolkit
+*.gpState
+
+# ReSharper is a .NET coding add-in
+_ReSharper*/
+*.[Rr]e[Ss]harper
+*.DotSettings.user
+
+# TeamCity is a build add-in
+_TeamCity*
+
+# DotCover is a Code Coverage Tool
+*.dotCover
+
+# AxoCover is a Code Coverage Tool
+.axoCover/*
+!.axoCover/settings.json
+
+# Coverlet is a free, cross platform Code Coverage Tool
+coverage*.json
+coverage*.xml
+coverage*.info
+
+# Visual Studio code coverage results
+*.coverage
+*.coveragexml
+
+# NCrunch
+_NCrunch_*
+.*crunch*.local.xml
+nCrunchTemp_*
+
+# MightyMoose
+*.mm.*
+AutoTest.Net/
+
+# Web workbench (sass)
+.sass-cache/
+
+# Installshield output folder
+[Ee]xpress/
+
+# DocProject is a documentation generator add-in
+DocProject/buildhelp/
+DocProject/Help/*.HxT
+DocProject/Help/*.HxC
+DocProject/Help/*.hhc
+DocProject/Help/*.hhk
+DocProject/Help/*.hhp
+DocProject/Help/Html2
+DocProject/Help/html
+
+# Click-Once directory
+publish/
+
+# Publish Web Output
+*.[Pp]ublish.xml
+*.azurePubxml
+# Note: Comment the next line if you want to checkin your web deploy settings,
+# but database connection strings (with potential passwords) will be unencrypted
+*.pubxml
+*.publishproj
+
+# Microsoft Azure Web App publish settings. Comment the next line if you want to
+# checkin your Azure Web App publish settings, but sensitive information contained
+# in these scripts will be unencrypted
+PublishScripts/
+
+# NuGet Packages
+*.nupkg
+# NuGet Symbol Packages
+*.snupkg
+# The packages folder can be ignored because of Package Restore
+**/[Pp]ackages/*
+# except build/, which is used as an MSBuild target.
+!**/[Pp]ackages/build/
+# Uncomment if necessary however generally it will be regenerated when needed
+#!**/[Pp]ackages/repositories.config
+# NuGet v3's project.json files produces more ignorable files
+*.nuget.props
+*.nuget.targets
+
+# Microsoft Azure Build Output
+csx/
+*.build.csdef
+
+# Microsoft Azure Emulator
+ecf/
+rcf/
+
+# Windows Store app package directories and files
+AppPackages/
+BundleArtifacts/
+Package.StoreAssociation.xml
+_pkginfo.txt
+*.appx
+*.appxbundle
+*.appxupload
+
+# Visual Studio cache files
+# files ending in .cache can be ignored
+*.[Cc]ache
+# but keep track of directories ending in .cache
+!?*.[Cc]ache/
+
+# Others
+ClientBin/
+~$*
 *~
+*.dbmdl
+*.dbproj.schemaview
+*.jfm
+*.pfx
+*.publishsettings
+orleans.codegen.cs
+
+# Including strong name files can present a security risk
+# (https://github.com/github/gitignore/pull/2483#issue-259490424)
+#*.snk
+
+# Since there are multiple workflows, uncomment next line to ignore bower_components
+# (https://github.com/github/gitignore/pull/1529#issuecomment-104372622)
+#bower_components/
+
+# RIA/Silverlight projects
+Generated_Code/
+
+# Backup & report files from converting an old project file
+# to a newer Visual Studio version. Backup files are not needed,
+# because we have git ;-)
+_UpgradeReport_Files/
+Backup*/
+UpgradeLog*.XML
+UpgradeLog*.htm
+ServiceFabricBackup/
+*.rptproj.bak
+
+# SQL Server files
+*.mdf
+*.ldf
+*.ndf
+
+# Business Intelligence projects
+*.rdl.data
+*.bim.layout
+*.bim_*.settings
+*.rptproj.rsuser
+*- [Bb]ackup.rdl
+*- [Bb]ackup ([0-9]).rdl
+*- [Bb]ackup ([0-9][0-9]).rdl
+
+# Microsoft Fakes
+FakesAssemblies/
+
+# GhostDoc plugin setting file
+*.GhostDoc.xml
+
+# Node.js Tools for Visual Studio
+.ntvs_analysis.dat
+node_modules/
+
+# Visual Studio 6 build log
+*.plg
+
+# Visual Studio 6 workspace options file
+*.opt
+
+# Visual Studio 6 auto-generated workspace file (contains which files were open etc.)
+*.vbw
+
+# Visual Studio 6 auto-generated project file (contains which files were open etc.)
+*.vbp
+
+# Visual Studio 6 workspace and project file (working project files containing files to include in project)
+*.dsw
+*.dsp
+
+# Visual Studio 6 technical files
+*.ncb
+*.aps
+
+# Visual Studio LightSwitch build output
+**/*.HTMLClient/GeneratedArtifacts
+**/*.DesktopClient/GeneratedArtifacts
+**/*.DesktopClient/ModelManifest.xml
+**/*.Server/GeneratedArtifacts
+**/*.Server/ModelManifest.xml
+_Pvt_Extensions
+
+# Paket dependency manager
+.paket/paket.exe
+paket-files/
+
+# FAKE - F# Make
+.fake/
+
+# CodeRush personal settings
+.cr/personal
+
+# Python Tools for Visual Studio (PTVS)
+__pycache__/
+*.pyc
+
+# Cake - Uncomment if you are using it
+# tools/**
+# !tools/packages.config
+
+# Tabs Studio
+*.tss
+
+# Telerik's JustMock configuration file
+*.jmconfig
+
+# BizTalk build output
+*.btp.cs
+*.btm.cs
+*.odx.cs
+*.xsd.cs
+
+# OpenCover UI analysis results
+OpenCover/
+
+# Azure Stream Analytics local run output
+ASALocalRun/
+
+# MSBuild Binary and Structured Log
+*.binlog
+
+# NVidia Nsight GPU debugger configuration file
+*.nvuser
+
+# MFractors (Xamarin productivity tool) working folder
+.mfractor/
+
+# Local History for Visual Studio
+.localhistory/
+
+# Visual Studio History (VSHistory) files
+.vshistory/
+
+# BeatPulse healthcheck temp database
+healthchecksdb
+
+# Backup folder for Package Reference Convert tool in Visual Studio 2017
+MigrationBackup/
+
+# Ionide (cross platform F# VS Code tools) working folder
+.ionide/
+
+# Fody - auto-generated XML schema
+FodyWeavers.xsd
+
+# VS Code files for those working on multiple tools
+.vscode/*
+!.vscode/settings.json
+!.vscode/tasks.json
+!.vscode/launch.json
+!.vscode/extensions.json
+*.code-workspace
+
+# Local History for Visual Studio Code
+.history/
+
+# Windows Installer files from build outputs
+*.cab
+*.msi
+*.msix
+*.msm
+*.msp
+
+# JetBrains Rider
+*.sln.iml
+
+
+###############################################
+# Global/VisualStudioCode.gitignore
+# source: https://github.com/github/gitignore
+###############################################
+.vscode/
+!.vscode/settings.json
+!.vscode/tasks.json
+!.vscode/launch.json
+!.vscode/extensions.json
+!.vscode/*.code-snippets
+
+# Local History for Visual Studio Code
+.history/
+
+# Built Visual Studio Code Extensions
+*.vsix
 
-# LaTeX
-doc/**/*.aux
-doc/**/*.toc
-doc/**/*.vrb
-doc/**/*.log
-doc/**/*.out
-doc/**/*.nav
-doc/**/*.snm
-doc/**/*.text.backup
-
-# VS Code
-.vscode
 
diff --git a/scripts/gitignore_generator/README.md b/scripts/gitignore_generator/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2d1a454
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/gitignore_generator/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+# gitignore generator
+
+## Purpose
+
+Concatenates a comma-separated list of .gitignore configurations from https://github.com/github/gitignore and moves it to a specific destination, usually the root directory of a repository.
+
+## Usage
+
+If ran from the root directory of the repository, to include the .gitignore of `C++`, `Python`, `Visual Studio`, and `Visual Studio Code`, use:
+
+```bash
+./scripts/gitignore_generator/generate_gitignore.sh \
+  --files C++.gitignore,Python.gitignore,VisualStudio.gitignore,Global/VisualStudioCode.gitignore \
+  --destination . \
+  --work_dir ~/work/tmp/gitignore
+```
+
+All arguments are mandatory.
diff --git a/scripts/gitignore_generator/generate_gitignore.sh b/scripts/gitignore_generator/generate_gitignore.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dec102d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/gitignore_generator/generate_gitignore.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Parse the arguments
+parse_args() {
+    while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+        key="$1"
+        case ${key} in
+        --files)
+            IFS=',' read -r -a FILES <<<"$2"
+            shift 2
+            ;;
+        --destination)
+            DESTINATION=$(realpath "$2")
+            shift 2
+            ;;
+        --work_dir)
+            WORK_DIR="$2"
+            shift 2
+            ;;
+        *)
+            echo "Unknown argument: ${key}"
+            exit 1
+            ;;
+        esac
+    done
+
+    # Ensure all required arguments are provided
+    if [ -z "$WORK_DIR" ] || [ -z "$DESTINATION" ] || [ ${#FILES[@]} -eq 0 ]; then
+        echo "Usage: $0 --work_dir <work_dir> --destination <destination_path> --files <file1,file2,...>"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+}
+
+# Creates work directory
+function create_work_dir() {
+    local work_dir=$1
+    mkdir -p "{$work_dir}"
+}
+
+# Removes work directory
+remove_work_dir() {
+    local work_dir=$1
+    rm -rf "$work_dir"
+}
+
+# Clones the gitignore repository to the work directory
+clone_repo() {
+    local work_dir=$1
+    git clone https://github.com/github/gitignore "${work_dir}/gitignore"
+    if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
+        echo "Failed to clone the repository."
+        exit 1
+    fi
+}
+
+# Concatenate any number of .gitignore templates into a single .gitignore file
+concatenate_gitignore() {
+    local work_dir=$1
+    shift
+    local gitignore_files=("$@")
+    local output_file="$work_dir/.gitignore"
+    >"$output_file"
+    for file in "${gitignore_files[@]}"; do
+        local file_path="$work_dir/gitignore/$file"
+        if [ ! -f "$file_path" ]; then
+            echo "Required .gitignore file $file_path not found."
+            exit 1
+        fi
+        echo "Adding $file"
+        echo "###############################################" >>"$output_file"
+        echo "# $file" >>"$output_file"
+        echo "# source: https://github.com/github/gitignore" >>"$output_file"
+        echo "###############################################" >>"$output_file"
+        cat "$file_path" >>"$output_file"
+        echo -e "\n" >>"$output_file"
+    done
+}
+
+# Moves the generated .gitignore file to the user-defined destination path
+move_gitignore() {
+    local work_dir=$1
+    local destination=$2
+    mv "${work_dir}/.gitignore" "${destination}"
+    if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
+        echo "Failed to move the .gitignore file to the destination."
+        exit 1
+    fi
+}
+
+main() {
+    parse_args "$@"
+    create_work_dir "${WORK_DIR}"
+    clone_repo "${WORK_DIR}"
+    concatenate_gitignore "${WORK_DIR}" "${FILES[@]}"
+    move_gitignore "${WORK_DIR}" "${DESTINATION}"
+    remove_work_dir "${WORK_DIR}"
+    echo "Successfully created and moved .gitignore to ${DESTINATION}"
+}
+
+main "$@"