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Re: gEDA-user: Hm...not much improvement
On Wed, 20 Sep 2006, Arthur Baldwin wrote:
Well, I tried using Yumex to install gEDA from Fedora Extras on a
clean and fully updated FC5 machine. What I ended up with is a much
less integrated collection of useless tools than I did with the
"recompiler installer" which I said before was a "nightmare". No
menu items were added to my KDE desktop at all. Paths were not added
to any desktop startup files. And so nothing works like it should.
Perhaps I missed a critical rpm file of some kind...but I used the
search term "geda" without any case sensitivity to search for
uninstalled items with that term anywhere in the package name or
description. Does anyone besides me see a problem here?
Yes, Arthur, there is a problem here: you.
GEDA is an open-source project created by volunteers who write these
apps for their own use, usually as a kind of hobby. They then share
the apps with the wider world in the hopes that the apps will be
useful to others. The developers do tend to respond to bug reports
and feature requests, but since the project is a hobby and not a
business, the developers have no obligation to fix particular bug or
write any particular app at anybody's request.
Scores (perhaps hundreds) of people use gEDA for their design
projects. I'm using it to do a four layer board at work right now.
Enough people have been successful (and posted their projects to the
web) that I suspect your problems stem from *your* unwillingness or
inability to figure out how to use the software.
For example, you say:
...No menu items were added to my KDE desktop at all....
GEDA is a GTK app. It won't do anything about linking icons to your
KDE desktop since that is a different desktop environment.
I suggest you go away and read the FAQ, written by a cast of
helpful volunteers, and freely available for you (and anybody else) to
read here:
http://geda.seul.org/wiki/
After that, if you can't make the software work to your
satisfaction, you have the following remedies available to you:
1. Modify the apps yourself so they please you. They are open-source
so you are free to hack the code to your heart's content. Then, if
you are interested in helping others, you can submit patches to the
project, and they will be integrated if the meet the gEDA project's
quality standards.
2. Ask nicely on the developer list for some features. If you're
nice, somebody might take pity on you and implement your desired
feature.
3. Hire a programmer, and pay him to implement your desired
features/fixes.
4. Try Kicad -- it has been getting good reviews from folks looking
for entry-level CAD, and may be more your speed.
5. Buy some commercial software and use it intead of gEDA.
Hope this helps,
Stuart
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