Re: gEDA-user: Parts DB API

[DJ Delorie <dj@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> For the time being, however, I don't see any reason not to stick to
> using some sort of external helper programs for actually accessing
> the database, as long as we can get the UI and basic Scheme API
> nailed down.

I've argued in the past that gattrib should be responsible for
attributes, not gschem.

And, there's no reason why the attributes need to be in the schematic!
We can store them in the BOM.  There's a pleasing symmetry to it:

gschem uses *.sym files to make *.sch
gattrib uses db files to make *.bom
pcb uses *.fp files to make *.pcb

The only interesting change is to gsch2pcb, which needs to read a
*.bom file in addition to the schematics.

> > The symbol files should be as light as possible, and we should make them
> > heavy by adding information coming from the database.
> 
> Totally agree.

I agree symbols should be as light as possible, but "adding to them"
isn't a requirement - we can store them in the BOM.  If we store the
attributes there then we also have a clue about which attributes came
from which programs, and the bom can store more than just a name/value
pair - it can store an "origin" value (how the value got chosen), for
example.

I think the only things that need to be added to the symbols
themselves are things that need to appear in the schematics - like pin
numbers.  We need a way to assign pin numbers to labelled pins so that
you can see in the schematic which pins are which.  Especially if we
get back annotation working.


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