kicad-developers team mailing list archive

[Lorenzo Marcantonio <l.marcantonio@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Mon, Aug 06, 2012 at 04:08:42PM -0500, Dick Hollenbeck wrote:
> Can a person use the "demo" version of Orcad to create this EDIF format from an
> arbitrarily large project native file set?
> (I am assuming EDIF is not the native format, correct me if I am wrong.)

Last time I've seen them a DSN (the 'native' schematic capture) is an OLE container stream (that would enough to make anyone puke). In old layouts (where .max was the extension, at least) there was a corresponding .min ascii file for interchange, something like the dwg/dxf situation with autocad.

Orcad itself is famous to have 'issues' with its own formats between releases...

> If not, how does a person with access to only free tools get a design from Orcad to
> KiCad?  Can that native format be reverse engineered, a) technically, b) legally?

That's the same issue for the CERN people to get out stuff from Altium IIRC. In EU there are explicit legal provisions for interchange reverse engineering, at least. Since there are packages out there importing orcad stuff I'd assume that Cadence is licensing some kind of library (I doubt that's for free... expecially if it can be used to migrate *out* of orcad)

-- 
Lorenzo Marcantonio
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