Author Topic: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.  (Read 36407 times)

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Offline firewalkerTopic starter

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The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« on: November 30, 2015, 05:53:47 am »
Wayne Stambaugh:

Quote
I just finished rolling out KiCad 4.0.0.  Many thanks to everyone who
made this possible.  Each and every one of you deserve to sit back and
enjoy this accomplishment.  I have a few minor requests before I make a
trip to my refrigerator to grab a cold one to celebrate.

Someone please add an announcement the to blog page on the KiCad website?

The footprint, symbol and 3D model library, documentation, and
translation repos need to be tagged 4.0.0 so future package builds can
pull the proper version.  At some point in the future we may need to
create 4.0.0 branches of the library, documentation, and translation
repos but for now the tags should suffice.  Please do not make any
commits to these repos until after they are tagged.

What do we need to do as far as creating automated builds for the
correct version of the documentation?  I know packagers on some
platforms will need pre-built documentation for the 4.0 release.  This
shouldn't be a significant issue until we start documenting new features
during the next development cycle.

Please do not swamp me with patches and new feature merge requests over
the next few days.  I have some of my own coding that I need to get done
for the next development cycle so I'm not going to have a lot of time to
do code reviews and I would like to reduce the number hours a week I've
been spending working on KiCad for a few weeks.

Thanks again everyone!

Cheers,

Wayne
Become a realist, stay a dreamer.

 

Online Monkeh

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #1 on: November 30, 2015, 06:45:36 am »
So the guy proclaiming the release can't or won't do a front page post about it, can't or won't tag the repos, and doesn't know how to get the documentation organised?

Profoundly dysfunctional development.
 

Offline ElektroQuark

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #2 on: November 30, 2015, 08:16:48 am »
No, it's structured. Each "department" does its things.

Offline jancumps

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #3 on: November 30, 2015, 09:37:06 am »
So the guy proclaiming the release can't or won't do a front page post about it, can't or won't tag the repos, and doesn't know how to get the documentation organised?

Profoundly dysfunctional development.

Come on.
 

Offline nfmax

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #4 on: November 30, 2015, 09:55:06 am »
It may be 'out' but it's not actually 'out'. The download still pages still give you 4.0.0 RC2, while the documentation date back to April. Who knows when they will actually finish releasing it?
 

Offline awallin

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #5 on: November 30, 2015, 09:58:28 am »
It may be 'out' but it's not actually 'out'. The download still pages still give you 4.0.0 RC2, while the documentation date back to April. Who knows when they will actually finish releasing it?

I guess it's called a release when the final commits and tags are made to the git repo.
Compiling and packaging binaries for different platforms is another process. For unix variants (e.g. Ubuntu) this can be more or less easily automated and the binaries should be out real soon I think. Windows binaries are not so straightforward I suspect and the solution is to just stop using Windows  :-DD
 

Offline ElektroQuark

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #6 on: November 30, 2015, 01:22:26 pm »
There are Windows binaries practically on a daily basis.

Offline c4757p

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #7 on: November 30, 2015, 01:48:50 pm »
So the guy proclaiming the release can't or won't do a front page post about it, can't or won't tag the repos, and doesn't know how to get the documentation organised?

Profoundly dysfunctional development.

Why should one person handle it all? Wayne is the lead developer and the project head. He delegates documentation and "PR" to other people. If you think that is "profoundly dysfunctional" your head is profoundly far up your ass.
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Online Monkeh

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #8 on: November 30, 2015, 04:53:48 pm »
So the guy proclaiming the release can't or won't do a front page post about it, can't or won't tag the repos, and doesn't know how to get the documentation organised?

Profoundly dysfunctional development.

Why should one person handle it all? Wayne is the lead developer and the project head. He delegates documentation and "PR" to other people. If you think that is "profoundly dysfunctional" your head is profoundly far up your ass.

It's not coordinated very well though, now is it?

It explains a lot about how the tool works, though.

*shrug*

Give 'em another couple years..
« Last Edit: November 30, 2015, 05:18:32 pm by Monkeh »
 

Offline aon

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2015, 05:05:02 am »
There seems to be a 4.0.0 build in the js-reynaud/kicad-4 ppa now  :-+
 

Offline donotdespisethesnake

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #10 on: December 02, 2015, 10:09:18 am »
The only thing released so far is the announcement of the release - they haven't published any release binaries.

This is typically Kicad - users are an afterthought!
Bob
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Offline HackedFridgeMagnet

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #11 on: December 02, 2015, 01:51:04 pm »
The only thing released so far is the announcement of the release - they haven't published any release binaries.

This is typically Kicad - users are an afterthought!
If you read the post previous to yours you will see they that they have released the source code.
So your  statement is just bullshit.

Please acknowledge your error, and in future try criticise what you don't like more fairly.


 

Offline AF6LJ

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #12 on: December 02, 2015, 02:05:49 pm »
Well this will be interesting.
I figure it is time to get off my backside and learn one of these programs.
Might as well start with Kicad...
Sue AF6LJ
 

Offline janoc

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #13 on: December 02, 2015, 02:13:06 pm »
The only thing released so far is the announcement of the release - they haven't published any release binaries.

This is typically Kicad - users are an afterthought!

Yay, Kicad is mentioned and the Kicad bashing brigade is on it in full force again ... Guys, you don't have anything better to do with your time? If you don't like it, why are you wasting your time with it?

I have downloaded the source and built it yesterday evening, compiles and works just fine  :-+

Just be prepared to "forward port" older projects because there were some changes in the libraries.



 

Offline zapta

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #14 on: December 02, 2015, 02:37:43 pm »
Last time I tried Kicad I completed the schematic, switched to the layout editor and got an empty screen. This is where I went back to Eagle. Is this still the case? I would like eventually to switch to Kicad.
 

Offline c4757p

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #15 on: December 02, 2015, 02:48:10 pm »
Well, it's certainly not a known problem at the time, but I can't rule out weird graphics issues that nobody else has seen. Graphics stuff is annoying like that.. I'd suggest giving it a try, at least (and if it doesn't work, and you're feeling generous, perhaps sharing some info on your graphics configuration? ;))
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Offline free_electron

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #16 on: December 02, 2015, 03:04:22 pm »
So the guy proclaiming the release can't or won't do a front page post about it, can't or won't tag the repos, and doesn't know how to get the documentation organised?

Profoundly dysfunctional development.
[pedantic mode on]well it's open source. if you don't like it : fork it, try to compile it . you got the source ....[/pedantic]
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Offline zapta

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #17 on: December 02, 2015, 03:18:13 pm »
Well, it's certainly not a known problem at the time, but I can't rule out weird graphics issues that nobody else has seen. Graphics stuff is annoying like that.. I'd suggest giving it a try, at least (and if it doesn't work, and you're feeling generous, perhaps sharing some info on your graphics configuration? ;))

It was not a graphic issue, just an empty editor with no components and air wires.  I remember somebody mentioning that a two way sync between schematic and board, similar to eagle, is in the plans.  When I tried it, the schematic editor and layout editor seem to be disconnected from each other.

Edit: found it here https://www.eevblog.com/forum/open-source-kicad-geda/kicad-gripes-list-post-gripes-here/?nowap 
 
Quote
So what I mean is: is the two-step export-netlist/import-netlist mechanism in Kicad really that awful? That said, I think it's on the roadmap to make it the one-step process after the upcoming stable is released.
« Last Edit: December 02, 2015, 03:27:34 pm by zapta »
 

Offline firewalkerTopic starter

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #18 on: December 02, 2015, 03:33:23 pm »
Did you loaded the netlist file produced be the schematic editor?

Alexander.
Become a realist, stay a dreamer.

 

Offline c4757p

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #19 on: December 02, 2015, 03:46:02 pm »
Ah, yes. Schematic and PCB still behave as separate applications (for hysterical raisins). Click the netlist button on the toolbar in schematic to export data, then click the netlist button on the toolbar in PCB to import it. It's a bit clunky, I'll admit - I'm not sure of the extent of any plans to change that. Tom (one of the CERN dudes) had a patch to fix that up a bit, a few months ago. It was never merged, I suspect because it was too large and risky to merge before the release and risk introducing bugs. Perhaps he'll bring it up again now that the release is out.
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Offline free_electron

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #20 on: December 02, 2015, 03:56:04 pm »
i like raisins  ^-^  not sure about historical, or hysterical,  ones though
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Offline zapta

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #21 on: December 02, 2015, 04:59:35 pm »
I suspect because it was too large and risky to merge before the release and risk introducing bugs. Perhaps he'll bring it up again now that the release is out.

Thanks. Streamlining the user experience end to end is very important, even before introducing advanced features.
 

Offline firewalkerTopic starter

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #22 on: December 02, 2015, 05:17:32 pm »
I kinda like the separate process.  :D :D :D

Alexander.
Become a realist, stay a dreamer.

 

Offline c4757p

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #23 on: December 02, 2015, 06:20:50 pm »
They aren't even separate anymore, though. That went away with the _last_ release - they sit in the same process now, so they can easily pass each other data. They just... don't.

Those raisins sure are hysterical.
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Offline bson

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Re: The new version of KiCAD is a fact.
« Reply #24 on: December 03, 2015, 03:58:31 am »
Last time I tried Kicad I completed the schematic, switched to the layout editor and got an empty screen. This is where I went back to Eagle. Is this still the case? I would like eventually to switch to Kicad.
You need to assign footprints, then generate a netlist.  The netlist is imported into the layout editor.

This may seem cumbersome, but it's actually quite nice because it makes it easy to have multiple layouts for the same schematic in one project.
 


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