Re: gEDA-user: What is the standard of gEDA tools and PCB

[John Griessen <john_g@cibolo.com>]

On Fri, 2003-05-16 at 11:37, Stephen Meier wrote:
> On the subject of a conversion I might right now be changing my mind. Why?
>  it should reduct the total number of mouse 
> clicks, drags, hot key cuts, pastes and direct text editing.

Bingo.  Experience talking.   

A vital task in improving usability of pcb is to sever parts of it from
the current GUI, but keep the current GUI, and make it update from the
data, wherever that is.   Right now, pcb main program assumes data is in
memory.  For simplicity in deconstructing/reconstructing pcb, data could
go to living in the file, and polling every so often to "get from file" 
so as to take into account data updates from independent tool processes
outside pcb. Later this could become a more sophisticated API, but for
now simplicity dictates KISS file-based data repository.  (Which is
proven to be adequate for chip design in early 90's so its more than
adequate for this with cheap 1GHz+ processors).


John Griessen