gEDA-dev: Thoughts about the PCB database model

[Stephan Boettcher]

DJ Delorie <dj at delorie.com> writes:

> The most likely change I've made is to fiddle with the pin/pad copper
> sizes, or clearances or mask openings.  Also, the location of the
> refdes is part of the element, and we move that around a lot, just as
> we change the refdes text and other texts.

Same here.

Please keep the fileformat as hackable as possible.  I am selling this
as one of the biggest advantages of gEDA vs binary propriatary
offerings.

Storing the elements individually, unroteted, unmirrored helps.

> I think we agreed that arbitrary rotations of elements means storing
> the original element somewhere, so that we don't accumulate rounding
> errors.  I know I didn't do it when I did the free rotate buffer
> action, but I was in a rush ;-)

How I'd love to have arbitrary rotation on the boards that I just
submitted for flight, for a Mars mission.  Those boards were designed
with a combination of gnumeric, emacs and pcb.  Arbitrary rotation
would have allowd to match the six-fold rotational symmetry of the
instrument.

Stephan