gEDA-user: Specifications

[DJ Delorie]

> How large a pcb layout can PCB handle?

About a quarter of a mile per side.  Yes, I've done this, my house
looks *really* small on that scale.

> That is, how many layers,

If you don't mind editing one line of a .h file, as many as your
computer can handle.  By default, 16.  I've tested up to 53.

> how many pads and components?

Limited only by your computer's RAM.

> That is, how many pages,

Each page is an individual file, so that depends on how big your disk
array is.  On average, a rough estimate is 100,000 per gigabyte.

> what sheet size.

Most of us work with C or D sheets, scaled down to A prints.  However,
there's no arbitrary limit - I think we're limited to 2 million inches
per side on 32-bit hosts.

> Is there a program available like the DxDatabook from Mentor
> DxDesigner where you can have your inventory of parts with part
> number, symbol, footprint already assigned and you can select the
> part and "place" the symbol on the schematic along with its
> attributes?

Search the mail archives for the "light vs heavy symbol" debate.  The
current library is light symbols, but you can always create your own
modified library with heavy symbols.