gEDA-user: Gattrib pre-alpha release now available!

[sdb@cloud9.net (Stuart Brorson)]

Hello gEDA fans --

I have been working on gattrib -- an attribute editor for gEDA -- for
a while.  I am now making a "pre-alpha" release available for
people interested in trying it out.   By "pre-alpha" I mean that it is
usable, but not all features have been implemented.  More on this
below. 

You might ask: "What is an attribute editor?"  An attribute editor
like gattrib is useful in situations where you need to add, modify, or
delete a number of attributes all at once. It saves you the pain of 
clicking on each component and using gschem's attribute editor when
you have a large number of changes to make. For example, suppose you
create a large design with generic components, and then later want to
attach "footprint" attributes to all your coponents for layout. Using
gschem to do this is a real hassle because you must click on each and
every component. Gattrib makes this job easy: it shows you all
components in your design, and allows you to attach the "footprint"
attribte to all components using an easy-to-use spreadsheet.

You can download gattrib from my website at:

http://www.brorson.com/gEDA/gattrib/

I have also placed a bunch of information about gattrib there, so
please read the website if you have any questions.   

Gattrib currently implements attribute editing for components only.
Later, I will also implement editing of net attributes (useful for
setting up routing constraints).  However, before I attack that
project, I need to understand how nets are represented and handled
using the fcns in libgeda.  Also, certain functions presented in the
menus are not yet functional.   

By the way, I welcome contributions from others who might be
interested in helping with gattrib.  I have become very busy recently,
and won't have as much time to devote to gattrib as I would like.  If
you are interested in implementing features or contributing patches,
please e-mail me!

Warning: Gattrib has been tested on several designs, but is not
garuanteed to work.  It may even trash your design!  Therefore, if you
wish to try gattrib out, please create a backup copy of your design
before you run it! 

Please e-mail me if you have any questions, suggestions, or want to
help move gattrib along by contributing code!

Stuart