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Re: UI improvements

 

Do most of the other EDA packages not refer to a component as
something that combines a symbol AND a footprint though?

On 24 March 2017 at 01:34, Wayne Stambaugh <stambaughw@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I'm going to weigh in on this because this has been on my radar with the
> symbol library table work I've been doing.  I do agree that we need to
> pick one term and use it consistently.  My preference is the term symbol
> because in my mind this is a component[1] and this is symbolic
> representation[2] of a component ergo symbol.  However, I spent some
> time this week checking out the documentation for all of the major and
> quite a few minor EDA applications and they *all* use the term component
> when talking about libraries.  This makes me think that for the sake of
> uniformity with other EDA applications, we should use the term
> component.  While I'm not a proponent of doing something just because
> that's what everyone else is doing, in this case using the term
> component may make users coming from other EDA apps a bit more
> comfortable.  Personally, I'm comfortable with either term but maybe we
> should not stray to far from the norm here.
>
> [1]:
> http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/stackpole-electronics-inc/CF14JT10K0/CF14JT10K0TR-ND/1741265
> [2]: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Resistor_symbol_America.svg
>
> On 3/23/2017 7:52 AM, Thor-Arne Hovland wrote:
>> Symbol has been used as long as I can remember.
>>
>> The proper names should probably be defined to avoid confusion.
>>
>> In my book:
>> A "symbol" is a generic repesentation for drawing a schematic,
>> and that is whats used in eeschema right now.
>>
>> A "footprint" is the pads and silkscreen ++ used in pcbnew.
>>
>> A "housing" is the physical package i.e. the 3D model.
>>
>> The current way of doing things is a bit confusing and causes
>> many "symbols" to be reused in the library.
>> This is not effective when someting is to be changed.
>>
>> It could be a good idea to introduce a "part" that stores all the needed
>> information like symbol, footprint, pin connections between symbol and
>> footprint,
>> 3D modell, documentation.
>>
>> This might be more intuitive for new user who I see repeatedly trying to
>> match a symbol
>> with pins "G-S-D" to a footprint with pins "1-2-3".
>>
>> Just my 2 cent....
>>
>> -----Original Message----- From: Chris Pavlina
>> Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2017 3:30 AM
>> To: Simon Wells
>> Cc: KiCad Developers
>> Subject: Re: [Kicad-developers] UI improvements
>>
>> Are we calling them "symbols" now? Internally they are called with
>> "components" or "parts" depending on whether they are on a schematic...
>>
>> On Thu, Mar 23, 2017 at 03:25:03PM +1300, Simon Wells wrote:
>>> just a slight segue.... is it not better to refer to symbols rather
>>> than components? as with the footprints being seperated from the
>>> symbols i don't see the justification for calling it a component (will
>>> also require renaming other stuff)
>>>
>>> On 23 March 2017 at 12:12, Chris Pavlina <pavlina.chris@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>> > On Wed, Mar 22, 2017 at 11:53:40PM +0100, Clemens Koller wrote:
>>> >> Hello, Fabrizio!
>>> >>
>>> >> The horizontal + vertical justify radio buttons could possibly be
>>> >> improved by showing the alignment visually as it's done in [1] by
>>> using >> a 3 x 3 radio button matrix. It can also reduce the number of
>>> clicks to >> 1 to adjust hor + vert simultaneously.
>>> >>
>>> >> The timestamp is not human readable. It seems strange to me to dump
>>> it >> as hex-number on the UI. (WTF!?)
>>> >
>>> > I'm struggling to think of a use for this. Maybe for power users, to
>>> > jump quickly to the component in the raw sch file by searching for it -
>>> > but why not just search for the reference?
>>> >
>>> > I wonder how many people would complain if I took that out.
>>> >
>>> >>
>>> >> The Component/Chip Name thingy seems to be lost a bit on the lower
>>> >> left. Maybe some sorting of the elements based on the usage/setup
>>> >> procedure as well as logic dependency could do some good.
>>> >>
>>> >> Regards,
>>> >>
>>> >> Clemens
>>> >>
>>> >> [1] https://wiki.openoffice.org/wiki/File:WG9-9.png
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >> On 2017-03-22 10:32, Fabrizio Tappero wrote:
>>> >> > hi guys,
>>> >> > I am looking at some new icons that were introduced in kicad by
>>> the >> > people who made the related functionalities and at the user
>>> >> > experience in general. If any of you guys has any feedback about
>>> >> > possible (aesthetic) UI improvements I would love to know.
>>> >> >
>>> >> > Specifically I am looking at this menu.
>>> >> >
>>> >> > Inline image 1
>>> >> >
>>> >> > the section "Chip Name" is a part that I use a lot and I find a
>>> >> > little "mysterious". Before going further with a possible patch
>>> to >> > improve a little the usability of it I would like to know if
>>> there is >> > any of you interesting in giving an opinion. I would
>>> love to know >> > from the person who made it what exactly is the Chip
>>> Name section >> > for. I feel it is not so evident to the user.
>>> >> >
>>> >> > cheers
>>> >> > Fabrizio
>>> >> >
>>> >> >
>>> >> >
>>> >> >
>>> >> > _______________________________________________
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>>> >> >
>>> >>
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>>> >
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>>
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>
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