gEDA-user: gEDA request for volunteers

[John Griessen <john@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: [OH Updates] Degrees of open-ness in EDA (and CAD in general) Date: Sat, 3 Sep
> 2011 18:58:40 -0400 From: phillip torrone <pt@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: updates <updates@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> john,
>
> can you write up what's needed for gEDA in a couple paragraphs? i'll post it up on MAKE. be specific and what folks who want to
> help need to do and how to contact/join the gEDA community.

1. what is geda
gEDA is a schematic editor and netlister capable of working with many open and proprietary physical layout tools
including VLSI layout, simulation.
Handles making hierarchic schematics so elements can be repeated by schematic page instances placed once.
The netlists it makes are a flattened hierarchy
where the netlist of a subcell has its parts repeated with different names.  New netlist exporters often take only a few hours of 
work. A circuit board layout tool called PCB allows user interface customization just as high end tools for chips do, where
a fast, experienced user enters keyboard shortcuts with left hand while mouse aiming with the right hand.  Newbies can use all
mouse commands.  Command menus and keyboard shortcuts can be customized by editing local project directory config files
to handle project specific or left handed or personal style wants.  Footprint libraries can be local to a project directory or
from a central library.  To be sure your project is a good reference for easy reuse,
local libraries can supercede central ones and the project directory can be set up so that compressing it and giving it to someone
else results in a local project specific environment just as the first was when added into another users installation.

Generation of printed schematics, netists, and bills of materials can be automated by Unix-style scripting and Makefiles. These 
can thus be combined with other tools that create simulation results, programs, documentation making it easy to  generate 
deliverables for a complete project, not just its electrical part.

2. why it matters
Because it is an effective tool, and truly open

3. what is needed and why
More volunteers to help document gschem and PCB, and code things like a symbol/footprint cross-tool editor and translator so
the whole OSHW(open source hardware) movement picks up pace.

4. how to join in
See gpleda.org, ask on geda-user mailing list  geda-user@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.seul.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/geda-user



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