kicad-developers team mailing list archive

[Dick Hollenbeck <dick@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 09/24/2010 01:14 PM, Wayne Stambaugh wrote:
>
> On 9/24/2010 10:35 AM, Dick Hollenbeck wrote:
>   
>> On 09/24/2010 08:59 AM, Dick Hollenbeck wrote:
>>     
>>> On 09/24/2010 03:41 AM, Lorenzo Marcantonio wrote:
>>>   
>>>       
>>>> On Fri, 24 Sep 2010, Martijn Kuipers wrote:
>>>>
>>>>   
>>>>     
>>>>         
>>>>> I would be very happy with an export function, doing: Export all used components into a project library.
>>>>> This way I can send the schematics on to the next person and (s)he can adjust where needed, without having to look for some components/footprint differences.
>>>>> Of course, its export, so the component would still live in the system library to be re-used.
>>>>>     
>>>>>       
>>>>>           
> <<< snipped >>>
>
>   
>> Then if you give EESCHEMA the ability to treat any previously designed
>> schematic as a library source for a new schematic (remembering that a
>> parts list is a library that exists within a schematic), you can pull
>> from one parts list into a new one, using drag and drop also.  If you
>> want to extend this to the extreme, you can eventually do away with
>> library files in total and only have one file format, schematics.  This
>> extension is a separate optional design decision obviously.  You could
>> also do this and hide it by giving the libraries a different file
>> extention, but the formats could be identical.  Library files would not
>> need to have any component instantiations or wires.
>>     
> This is an interesting concept.  I was thinking about embedding the library in
> the schematic instead of a separate library file when you suggested a separate
> project library file.  I actually like this concept better.  The only down side
> I see is that it requires implementing the schematic structure to support this
> at the same time which may be too big of a change to implement in a reasonable
> time frame.  We could implement the component library first and design in the
> capability to embed libraries into other files as part of the library
> structure.  Then we could repeat this same exercise for the schematic structure
> and make the library to schematic transition then.
>
> Wayne
>   

If we're basing the new library file on s-expression (aka DSN like) and
using richio concepts, I don't think it is hard to assume that that
makes loading and saving pretty much context free and relocatable, i.e.
nestable.  It should be easy to extend the library file to include
sheets, wires, instantiated components, and desired parts list columns,
and after all that, call it a new schematic format.

And if need be a new branch can be started to do any of this work, to
avoid exposing folks to a phase where the program is not usable.  As
always, I see the rate limiting problem being one of qualified
man-hours, and who gets to donate them.

Dick