kicad-developers team mailing list archive

[Dick Hollenbeck <dick@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 08/10/2012 02:48 PM, Dick Hollenbeck wrote:
> On 08/10/2012 01:30 PM, Miguel Angel wrote:
>> SCR is the file format that Farnell provides for eagle, I think they export from ultra librarian
> It does seem to be eagle script.

:

> It might as well have a *.ulp file extension.

> This is basically lock-in, since I think Element 14 bought the company which was making
Eagle.


Would be interesting to confirm this, since I am just guessing.


If true, then KiCad's ability to load Eagle files directly, directly impacts the software
company purchase investment. It would not be in their interest to see KiCad gobble Eagle
files.

BTW, Eagle 6 free, can load the Eagle 5 files and save them as XML ver. 6 format.

Adding EAGLE_PLUGIN::FootprintLoad() is very trivial, as are all the unimplemented
EAGLE_PLUGIN functions. There is basically only one DTD for all Eagle 6 XML files, so you
will find probably that the footprints are simply the <packages> XML elements in the XML
file when it is designated as a footprint library file.

Once Wayne finishes the Pcbnew library table, it would then in theory be possible to use
Eagle footprint libraries as native KiCad footprints, without even having to convert them.

For that to happen:

a) Finish EAGLE_PLUGIN, and

b) write library table, so each footprint library can use a different PLUGIN.


Dick