kicad-developers team mailing list archive

[Cirilo Bernardo <cirilo.bernardo@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Sun, Mar 5, 2017 at 10:29 AM, Wayne Stambaugh <stambaughw@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On 2/27/2017 11:28 AM, Chris Pavlina wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> There are a few problems with "standalone mode" that I see. One of the
>> biggest is demonstrated [1] - kiway services aren't available. In my
>> opinion this really is detrimental to the function of the software -
>> e.g. eeschema shouldn't be missing features just because it was started
>> in standalone.
>>
>> Another problem is the awkwardness of packaging/install on systems that
>> expect applications to be discrete units, like macOS. There's some
>> foreshadowing on the bug tracker of trouble wrt. signed packages, which
>> I couldn't immediately dig up.
>>
>> I'd really like if we could change this. I don't think standalone mode
>> the way we implement it is necessary. It is necessary that one can open
>> a pure schematic file, or a pure PCB file, outside of the context of a
>> project -- but I do NOT think this should require starting the
>> individual application separately from the project manager.
>>
>> What if the project manager simply understood the concept of single
>> files as well as projects?
>
> I honestly don't know how this will work out.  Regardless of how the
> editors are launched, the project configuration is very much in play and
> there is currently no support for multiple projects open simultaneously.
>  I don't know how you will open a single schematic in a manner which
> will wreak havoc on the symbol library lists.  Boards are a different
> story since their footprints are embedded so it's probably less of an
> issue.  Once the new schematic file format is in play than the symbol
> library issue is no longer in play.  I'm not opposed to you trying but I
> don't think we are any where near ready to attempt to head down that
> path any time soon.
>

I think the idea is to have a single executable which can act as the
standalone launcher for all the kiway blobs rather than have N
installed versions of what is essentially the same launcher. Kicad
should still work as expected: if it opens a *.pro file then eeschema
and pcbnew can talk to eachother and if it opens a *.sch/*.kicad_pcb
file or what not then the program invoked acts like the standalone.

Although it would be nice to have standalone instances of eeschema,
pcbnew and so on magically talk to eachother, we all know that would
require a well-planned IPC based mechanism and that's not what's
being proposed here.

- Cirilo

>>
>> [1] https://bugs.launchpad.net/kicad/+bug/1668157
>>
>
>
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