gEDA-user: gEDA pcb features / kicad

[michalwd1979 <michalwd1979@xxxxx>]

Hello,
I am now learing gEDA (on rather complicated project), but some time ago I found that there is another package similar to gEDA - Kicad. I don't want to start never ending discussion about which is better but can anyone make a simple compare? It seems for me that Kicad is a single application and does not have programs like gattrib, tragesym ect. so I would rather stick to gEDA (I love the idea of apps like tragesym, gattrib) but maybe I am wrong? 

Assigning footprints to elements (using gattrib or gschem) takes a lot of time especially when you did not used pcb before. You need to manually search pcb library and pick footprints until you learn them. Heavy symbols is not a way to go in my opinion (you never know if the symbol has right footprint for you) but maybe it would be possible to have another application like gfootprint?
 It could load your schematic, then look for footprints in pcb libraries and show you  "preferred footprints" for an element based on some attributes. For example something like 1W_Carbon_Resistor from pcb newlib can be a resistor, maybe an inductor but a diode or capacitor. resistor-1 symbol could have a "footprint-type" or similar attribute "RESISTOR" and 1W_Carbon_Resisitor could have "symbol-type" attribure "RESISTOR INDUCTOR". Now gfootprint will show only footprints where "footprint-type" mathes one of "symbol-type". This would reduce number of footprints showed by huge number. The problem would be with ICs and special elements but it such case we can not set these attributes (and manually set footprint) or have them like IC-20 to limit footprints to 20 pins DILs, SOs, TSSOPs and so on.
I hope that I did not make this all to much confising :-). I really like the gEDA idea to have small apps for different functions so maybe this could be another? My programming skills are not enough to write it (I am working only with microcontrollers) but maybe I can set attributes?

Best Regards,
Michael Widlok 




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