kicad-developers team mailing list archive

[Brian <lotharyx@xxxxxxxxx>]

Just want to add my +1 for the interface approach.  I am glad to hear that is the intent (I’ve not had time to read the proposal).  With such an interface, as has been pointed out already, data-source-specific implementations should be relatively straightforward, and then I don’t have to potentially throw away my years of privately curated data or figure out how to cram it into some alternate schema.  All I would need to do is write the code to answer the questions presented by the interface.

Hopefully in the next few days I’ll be able to read Jon’s draft spec and comment from a better-informed position.

Cheers,
-Brian

>> On Aug 28, 2020, at 9:43 AM, Jon Evans <jon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
> Hi Clemens,
> 
>> On Fri, Aug 28, 2020 at 9:34 AM Clemens Koller <cko@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> Hello!
>> 
>> This is related to the previous thread: "Automatic assignment of footprint with a database"
>> 
>> I would generally prefer assemble real components on a real PCB right from the beginning instead of first placing generic components and then assign footprints + manufacturers + types + x manually. This seems extra work for each component which could possibly be avoided.
> 
> Me too!
> 
>> 
>> So, regarding on the Kicad codebase, I would very likely not recomment to embed a full component management / database system, since this might vary from site to site and even from project/assembly house to project/house. But it would be great to be able to have an interface to grab a component out of a database and Kicad grabs all desired / a selection of individual columns out of the database as needed.
>> This might include the actual footprints stored in the database as well.
> 
> What I plan on implementing is not a "full" database management system, but rather an interface to grab info out of a database, just like you say.
> The only difference is, there are no plans to store actual symbols or footprints in the database.
> The symbols and footprints will still be stored in "normal" KiCad library files; the database will just contain "pointers" telling KiCad which symbol to use (and what library it can be found in).
> 
> BTW, the example schema in your email looks very familiar to me.  This is the kind of data source that can be used with the feature I am talking about: just add columns to the schema for tracking which KiCad symbol and footprint(s) should be used for a part.
> 
> Regarding the advanced features you mention, some of them sound like they would be handled by a PLM tool.
> Some of the PLM tools I have worked with can interface to external databases for managing this kind of component library for an EDA or mechanical CAD tool.
> 
> Best,
> Jon
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