Now I will admit I am a complete novice using Kicad. I will also acknowledge I haven't read all the documentation I should have done. But my God the interface of Kicad is F***ing HORRIFIC!!!! Why can't I have multiple schematics in a project - I have one project with a requirement of 4 PCBs. Why can I have multiple sheets without 'hierarchy'. Why can't I import a schematic into an empty Project (because I accidently loaded Eeschema independently). WHY is the F***ing cursor permanently snapping on the screen so annoying...The list goes on!!
A friend of mine published some free software years ago ( Realterm ). Some twit was complaining bitterly about some aspect of it - so my friend offered him his money back
Kicad is FREE. Why are any of you complaining? If you don't like it go use something else.
I wouldn't call drawing parts a "skill". Srsly, a square with pads is not hard to draw. Drawing pads for non-standard packages is far more tedious (and error-prone).
If software is created as a part of business, I do not care if the product is offered for me “free” or not. Being part of the business it’s never really free and I see no reason to behave any different than as if I paid for it directly. Make your demands and complain loudly if they do not listen “because it’s ‘free’”. Open source or not, free or not, doesn’t matter as long as it’s a part of their business.
There are 3 modes for software, paid for directly by user, completely free and funded free software.
Kicad is funded around $20k a year.
QuoteKicad is funded around $20k a year.
Which is enough to pay a single programmer for about 1/2 day each week. To what does that entitle the typical KiCad user?
Kicad is FREE. Why are any of you complaining? If you don't like it go use something else.
I really hate this attitude, it is unfortunately pervasive in many open source communities and it does a lot of damage to the open source movement. Just because software is free doesn't mean it has to be garbage, and it doesn't mean people aren't allowed to criticize it. A sensible author will listen to criticism and at least take it into consideration. Yes the software is free, but so is all the QA they are getting from the people that are criticizing it. A lot of free software is very good, very polished, and continues to improve, free is not an excuse for being crap.
There's a world of difference between providing constructive feedback to the developers, and whining about something on an unassociated forum.
People are allowed to whine, get over it. If you don't like it, don't read it.
Writing from a soft-dev perspective here.
It seems to me that everyone who has made a suggestion about a database driven library has a specific way they want it implemented and they're all different. And nobody with such an opinion has stepped up to the plate and actually written an implementation proposal.
In the meantime, the developers have concentrated on the nuts-and-bolts usability of the application, and honestly, it's quite excellent.
... again, as eugene notes, this thread was started in 2018 and many (most?) of the complaints in it have been addressed by the Kicad developers. They really are responsive to user requests.
Kicad is FREE. Why are any of you complaining? If you don't like it go use something else.
I really hate this attitude, it is unfortunately pervasive in many open source communities and it does a lot of damage to the open source movement.
Thing is, open-sourcing some software in itself doesn't make developers owe anything to their users. They're already cool enough to share their projects and give them essentially free time.
And your attitude is bound to change completely depending on which side you're on. As a user, you feel your suggestions, rants and whining are all reasonable, useful and should be listened to. The same people getting on the other side of the fence suddenly realize there's a bunch of people "watching you work" while explaining to you how you should do it.
He's just sore because he couldn't earn that with his significantly less capable software.
It seems to me that everyone who has made a suggestion about a database driven library has a specific way they want it implemented and they're all different. And nobody with such an opinion has stepped up to the plate and actually written an implementation proposal.
Writing from a soft-dev perspective here.
Software built by the users suits authors’ needs and is built by adding new features as required. It is not written with other people in mind, at least initially. If you write your own program, learning a single new input action is zero effort. You go through it dozens of time while implementing the feature anyway. They are usually coming from branches unrelated to programming or are early on that path, so they lack relevant knowledge and may make unexpected choices. That leads to applications that, when first used by a newcomer, seem to be filled with unintuitive controls. As soon as the obstacle of learning them is overcome, they are not worse than any other.
Situation is different if the application is built with the intention of being sold or at least delivered internally to a vast group of workers. That type of software since beginning is developed to appeal to possibly wide audience. Any obstacle in adoption is putting the company in a serious disadvantage compared to the competition.(1) So care is taken from the very beginning to make UI familiar. Since the program is written by professional developers, who know their trade,(2) they have knowledge, experience and studies to do that. They are usually also not the pioneers in the field, but build upon existing solutions, which they copy and improve.