Re: gEDA-user: PCB autorouter

["harry eaton" <bumpelo@comcast.net>]

Dave McGuire wrote:
>    Ok.  what I experienced wasn't *incorrect* output in the strictest
> sense, just that it was pretty messy.  (I mean no offense by this...I
> think your work is excellent)

When finding a path, the auto-router tries hard to keep as much open area as
possible for routing other tracks. Sometimes it will make a "bump" to leave
room on one side for another track (or space for a via), but no other track
is routed in that region, or it was there in an earlier routing pass but
later removed and its effects were left behind. The results look strange,
but (usually) made sense at one point in the routing iterations.

>
> > DJ wrote the trace-optimizers in order to "clean up" many things that
> > the
> > auto-router leaves behind.
>
>    Yes I noticed that stuff.  Is there some reason why those things
> aren't done automatically during the route, or is that the future plan?

There's more control with manual application of trace-cleaning; plus there
are some bugs still lurking in the trace optimizer. I won't say it will
never be made an automatic operation, but there is no plan to do so at this
time.

harry