Re: gEDA: Big changes to RC file system

["Mark Cianfaglione" <mark_cianfaglione-at-NOSPAMcoresim_dot_com>]

>>
>> On Thu, Jan 27, 2005 at 07:19:30AM -0500, Stuart Brorson wrote:
>>
>> > 6.  read /foo/bar/gafrc while sitting in the directory /foo/bar.  This
>> >     takes care of all the guile search path problems, like when people
>> put
>> >     things like (component-library "../common/symlib") or some such
>> into
>> >     their RC files.
>> > 7.  After that, read the file itself.

If I may add my two bits..

I use currently about 4 different CAD packages at the moment and they all
handle local "libraries" differently. Suffice it to say that local
libraries are at best a bad choice for component management. If you wish
to have an experimental component (a hack so-to-speak) use a global
experimental library path. This eliminates the requirements for different
local libraries for different projects. I'm presently doing a bit of work
for a company that has about 33000 components on a "approved" library and
about 5000 on the "experimental" library. By doing this they eliminate the
problem for design data storage and retrieval as the next time the design
is opened it may be in a different absolute path and therefore load up
incorrectly. This also allows the designers to open up other "schematic
pages" for design cut-and-paste and the components are available at all
times.

This is a problem for outsourcing designs however... This is where the
difference between the various CAD packages really begins. In one the
components are embedded in the design file. In another they can be copied
to a local directory with a path relative to the design root. They all
have their pros and cons WRT data management.

Personally I like to have global absolutes (set up in some global RC file)
and a "hard coded" relative path to the design root.

I rarely "cut-and-paste" as designs are rarely that unique that you are
not already not starting from a proven design in the first place. In which
case the majority of the design is there and only a small bit has to be
changed.

YMMV but in my experience it works best this way for most cases...

Mark