Re: gEDA-dev: [Re: is all EDA as bad as gEDA/pcb?]

[Ben Jackson <ben-at-NOSPAMben_dot_com>]

On Sat, Dec 08, 2007 at 11:11:03PM -0500, DJ Delorie wrote:
>  > to do it with.  Yes, money would help - some.  If it's enough to
>  > replace someone's full time job (~100k/year after expenses), it would
>  > help more.

I was thinking that the best thing to donate to PCB development in
particular is pcb manufacturing.  Autorouting BGA got you down?
Contribute a 6-layer board fab and a BGA FPGA!

> Suggestion: when somebody creates a component and saves it, ask them
> if they want to contribute that component.

Kind of contradicts the earlier point.  One thing geda/PCB taught me is
that I shouldn't struggle to avoid making my own symbols and footprints.

> Suggestion: when somebody starts up pcb, ask them how many layers they
> plan to use.  Having fourteen layers shown when you're producing a PCB
> at home, is no help at all.

In a larger sense this gets at the problem of the defaults of PCB vs the
defaults of gsch2pcb.

> Suggestion: use reasonable defaults, e.g. 100 mils.

Not sure for what...  Grid??

> Suggestion: PCB should understand metallic connections, and try to
> preserve them.  If I put down a component and connect it to another
> component using a line, and them move one of the components, the line
> should follow

That's 'rubberband lines' although even I didn't realize what that option
did until I fixed bugs in it.  Now that it doesn't do wacky things
with short segments (oh, and vias don't snap to themselves) it's usable.

> using the same "preserve straights and 45's as
> necessary" algorithm that the line was placed with..

To get that far would probably require a "live autorouter" sort of
feature.

> I'm sure, but I'd start by throwing the whole thing out.

I sort of agree.  PCB is at a bit of a local maximum.  It's surprisingly
capable given some of its grotesque innards.  However, a new program that
started at the base of a taller hill might never even reach the current
altitude...

> Who would pay for that?  The vendors who get their purchasing
> information into the program.  It works for Eagle, and they're just a
> PCB house.

In the open source world, hackers fix what bothers them.  I did lots of
work on PCB because the usability problems and bugs were directly in the
way of producing the desired results.  I think the right way to encourage
PCB development is to donate stuff that makes the hackers want to use PCB
the way YOU want to use PCB.  If you want blind and buried vias, donate
some board fabs with blind/buried vias to whoever gets it working.

Speaking of which, where DO the $$$ go when I see that someone donated to
the PCB project?

-- 
Ben Jackson AD7GD
<ben@ben.com>
http://www.ben.com/


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