kicad-developers team mailing list archive

[Wayne Stambaugh <stambaughw@xxxxxxxxx>]

On 10/13/2017 6:19 AM, Kristoffer Ödmark wrote:
> Thanks you very much for that clarification, I for one would really
> enjoy a clarification of the documentation and Datasheet string. KiCad
> has been around for quite a while now, interesting how technology has
> changed during that time.
> 
> For another question, would It be okay to redirect the context menu in
> eeschema, so that the "Show documentation" context menu would use the
> Field "Datasheet"? And use the "documentation" string to fill the
> "Datasheet" field when adding the symbol to the schematic?

I'm OK with adding both a "Show Documentation" (should be visible only
when the field is not empty) to the symbol context menu and an "Edit
Datasheet Field" entry to the "Properties" sub-menu.

> 
> I guess this would be considered a temporary fix if okay?
> 
> On 10/13/2017 08:51 AM, jp charras wrote:
> 
>> FYI, in fact this confusion comes from a bug introduced a long time ago:
>>
>> Initially, the field name was "Sheet" not "Datasheet".
>> It should be "SchematicSheet"
>>
>> The purpose was to be able to create a component acting as a
>> hierarchical sheet:
>> The component in a root sheet, and its internal sheet
>> ("SchematicSheet") similar to a sub sheet.
>>
>> But unfortunately, it was never done, and one day the word "Sheet"
>> became "Datasheet", thus creating
>> a serious confusion.
>>
>> Perhaps the "DATASHEET" field (attached to the symbol) and the
>> "documentation" string (attached to a
>> alias) should be clearly redefined for the V5.
>>
>> By the way, do you know why the .dcm file exists?
>> It is similar to the .idx index file of old spice libs.
>>
>> In the early time of eeschema, Kicad was stored on a server and was
>> used in classrooms and on PCs
>> connected by a "slow" network link: network cards were ISA cards and
>> the link speed was roughly 2400
>> bps.
>>
>> So loading all needed schematic libraries to choose a symbol was a too
>> time costly process, making
>> Eeschema barely usable.
>> Using small .dcm files to display a list of symbols and some info
>> fixed this issue.
>>
>> Nowadays, link speed, PC speed and memory sizes have 3 order of
>> magnitude, and .dcm files (a relic
>> of this time) is more an annoying feature.
>>
> 
>