Re: gEDA-user: Open-source friendly EE programs

[William Dieter <william.dieter@xxxxxxxxx>]

I am more of a computer engineering/systems software guy than a
hardware guy, but I've been doing more hardware projects lately. There
are several of us who try to do things with open source here at
University of Kentucky (UK), but the program is not really open source
oriented.  Many students and faculty want students to use "real" tools
that are commonly used in industry.  To some extent it is hard to
blame them.  Some employers (particulary the HR people) are looking
for certain keywords on the resume and anyone without them gets weeded
out, regardless of how well they understand the underlying concepts. 
Also we have gotten some of the the software packages donated or sold
at a greatly reduced price for a University-wide site license, which
makes the free-as-in-beer argument harder to make.

Many (but not all) students detest any program that runs from the
command line, as it must be horribly primitive.  I have used Icarus
verilog to try automating testing of Verilog assignments.  The command
line interface is an asset, IMHO, because makes it possible to run
from a CGI (or other automated regression testing script.)  The
biggest problem I ran into was that the Xilinx tools the students were
using was different enough that somethings that worked under Icarus
did not work on Xilinx and vice versa (partly because the version of
Xilinx we used had no behavioral simluation.)  It was no worse than
trying to assign a C or C++ program and giving the students one
compiler, then trying to grade it on another (in other words it was a
big mess, but not really Icarus's fault.)

I have gotten good enough using gschem->gsch2pcb->pcb for my own
projects that I feel comfortable recommending it to people.  None of
the classes I am involved with directly do board layouts, but I do get
people working with me on independent projects and senior projects or
just asking for advice about tools...

Bill.

On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 23:23:12 -0500, Ales Hvezda <ahvezda@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > Clarification:
> >
> > Does anyone know of universities with degrees in EE that are
> > open-source friendly?
> >
> 
>         Well, I try to encourage its use here at Federal University of Rio
> Grande do Sul, Brazil. But students don't seem to like it. They say that
> Linux (of course, Linux is not the same as open-source, but...) is much
> harder to use than Windows. I argue that that's because they use Windows
> for a long time and are just starting with Linux. When they started with
> Windows the difficulties should have been similar.
> 
>         Nonetheless, one or two semesters ago for the first time I had a
> student that told me the opposite with respect to a Windows based
> Laboratory assignment. He allways used Linux and claimed to me that
> Windows is  much more complicated to use.
> 
>         Our department is also responsible for a CE program. Of couse, CE
> students are much more familiar with open-source than EE students.
> Perhaps because CE students understand better the concept of open-source
> and its technical implications, while EE students perceive it like a
> religious war between Linux and Windows. Of couse, I am talking about EE
> students and CE students in general. When it comes to people, there are
> allways exceptions.
> 
> --
> [ ]'s
> Walter Fetter Lages       <mailto:w.fetter@xxxxxxxx>
> <http://www.eletro.ufrgs.br/~fetter>
> 


-- 
Bill Dieter.
Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40506-0046