kicad-developers team mailing list archive

[Dick Hollenbeck <dick@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 3/21/20 10:33 AM, Seth Hillbrand wrote:
> On 2020-03-20 08:01, Dick Hollenbeck wrote:
>> Folks,
>>
>> I am trying to use the same hierarchical schematic and product two
>> board files.  So my
>> plan is to have a symlink for the board file which can point to either
>> of the two boards,
>> depending on which I am currently working on.
> 
> Hi Dick-
> 
> I'm hoping that we can explicitly deprecate sharing files between 
> projects in favor of an in-KiCad solution for reusing design blocks.  
> Having this functionality external to KiCad, as is the case with shared 
> files, can cause lots of problems (cached references, changes in one 
> project, etc) and requires the user to explicitly configure their 
> filesystem to support this.
> 
> Best-
> Seth


Seth,

All the conversations regarding the new schematic file format, going back many years ago,
long before you joined the project, have always spoke of reusable schematic hierarchical
subsheets.  I always used the term, "verilog like" to describe them.   And I was always
adamant that the parameter passing should be done at the call site, not within the shared
logic (as is the case now).

Earmarking this feature with a new fancy name like "design blocks" is just another name
for an old idea.  Verilog calls them modules.

But I promise you, never in any of those prior KiCad discussions, and AFAICT nor in the so
called duplicate issue that you pointed to, was there ever any mention of "conditional
inclusion/exclusion".  Conditional inclusion and conditional exclusion of design blocks is
what my idea brings to the table.  Sorry if it was not sexy, and did not use the new sexy
name for the old idea, or spoke too much of gaps I was willing to fill in in order to get
a working tool.

Hierarchical sheets are not only a redundant concept with design blocks, they are
literally an inadequate implementation of the same.
You would not keep both, but during the transition, people should be able to use either
term in conversations.

When reading my write up, a person should start with the title. Let that sink in.  Then
when reading the body of the write up, look for the feature that corresponds to the title.

If you want to ADD conditional inclusion and exclusion to a design block architecture
document, then we could probably meld these two concepts together.  Until then, I maintain
that this is a new idea.

The whole feature that I speak of is only a couple hundred lines of code or less.

Dick


A man once went to a magic show.  He decided he was not going to be tricked, so he spent
the whole time watching the magician's socks.  When he exited the theater he commented
that the show was very boring.
If you want to pay attention to the boring stuff, you are likely to miss the magic.