kicad-developers team mailing list archive

[jp charras <jp.charras@xxxxxxxxxx>]

<....>

>>>
>>> JP, Wayne and I developed the following working blueprint and attached spreadsheet.
>>> Spreadsheet from JP.
>>
>> Dick,
>>
>> What was your reason for keeping this blueprint secret and not involving 
>> CERN (as well as other important developers) in the discussion?
>>
>> I sincerely hope it was just an accident.
>>
>> It feels really awful, being treated like a second-string developer.
>>
>> Tom
> 
> 
> I saw it as two tasks,
> 
> 1) creating the open ended layer framework and fixing the legacy layer order/sequencing
> problem once and for all, and
> 
> 2) identifying the needed layers and their purpose.
> 
> 
> I withheld my involvement in 2), and the email shows I intended to do so from the beginning.
> 
> Therefore I thought as lead developer I had license to volunteer my time on 1) anyway I
> chose.  I do after all have unique knowledge of the code and position within the project.
> 
> I will take a back seat to you and others on item 2), and intended to do so from the
> beginning, as I respect your expertise in this area greatly.
> 
> Generally you should not expect me to beg to make my contributions.  We've had more than
> enough discussions in the past about how to hold layers, and no agreement was in sight.
> 
> 
> Dick

I want to be clear:

The layers number, layers names, layers id, the way to code layer mask
and some other things about layers have already generated *endless*
discussions and plethora of mails over the years.

These discussions started years ago, in fact, and the result was zilch.
(Some guys wanted more than 29 layers for instance 64, other guys wanted
hundred of layers, and so on...)


I can confirm no agreement was in sight, and mainly what was in sight is
a lot of wasted time about that.

This explains core developers (mainly Dick who made 99% of the work)
started and *finished* the work to expand the number of layers.

Expanding copper layers to 32, keep existing non copper layers (and add
4 new layers for footprints, which is asked in many (most of?) mails of
kicad libraries maintainers) is what Dick made.

Still, Thanks, Dick.
I am pretty sure without your work on layers, we have to wait months
before having this feature in Pcbnew.

There are now a lot of work to be able to efficiently use up to 64 layers.
(managing 20 layers is not the same thing that managing 60 layers)

The blueprint we are expecting from CERN guys is about:
- What *useful* layers should be added (there is room now for that).
- What *useful* enhancements should be added to use easily a lot of layers.
- who is volunteering to work on these enhancements.

and not how to code a 64 bit mask layers.

But I do not think a blueprint and months of discussions are needed to
code the management of more than 32 layers and a layer mask larger than
32 bit.
What is needed is just a skilled guy to code this change, who know the
internal Pcbnew code, and to do the work.

Dick was this guy.

-- 
Jean-Pierre CHARRAS