News Item: : KiCad
(Category: Linux)
Posted by Brad R
Sunday 31 January 2010 - 12:20:25
This is a tale of a very specialized application. I mention it not because I think anyone else reading this site will need this application, but rather, as an example of how to find specialized software for your non-Microsoft computer, and as an illustration of the wealth of software available in open source.
Among my activities, I am an electronics hobbyist. I've even designed my own computer from the logic gates up. (Not anything competitive with a modern PC, just an intellectual exercise.) Over the years, I have used an assortment of EDA (Electronic Design Automation) software including OrCad, PC-Pro, and EZ-Board. And I've encountered two problems. First, the commercial software becomes unsupported, requiring me to pay for an upgrade to the newest version (which sometimes, in turn, requires a newer computer or operating system). Second, should I want to share my designs with other hobbyists, I can't really ask them to shell out hundreds or thousands of dollars for the software I've chosen to use to draw schematics and lay out printed circuit boards.
So last week I began researching new EDA software for my PC, specifically looking for open-source, cross-platform software. Since a major goal is to share designs with others, I can't require that those others install Linux to use the software, so I want software that Windows users can use. I'd prefer cross-platform software that can run directly on Linux, but as a last resort would use Windows software if it ran well under Linux using Wine.
A few hours' work with Google turned up the following candidates:
KiCad. This is an integrated schematic/PCB (Printed Circuit Board) package that is available for both Windows and Linux. It started as a one-man project but now seems to have several developers, and an active user community.
gEDA. The gEDA project has been around for quite a while, and offers a complete suite of circuit design tools for Linux. The layout program, PCB, seems to be a distinct project. At present there is no Windows offering.
Open Circuit Design. This project offers a schematic program (xcircuit) and its own PCB program (pcb). (As nearly as I can tell, this is a "fork" of the PCB program used by gEDA.) There is a Windows port of xcircuit, but not for pcb (whose latest revision seems to have been in 2006).
Electric. This also is a mature package, and is available for Linux, Windows, and Mac. It appears that this is intended as an integrated-circuit design system, and that printed-circuit-board (PCB) design is something of an afterthought. It's a free download,but I don't know if it's open-source. (Update: it is open-source, under the GPL. Thanks to our friends the Millers for this info.)
KiCad, gEDA, Electric, and xcircuit are all available from the Debian repository; another sign that these are reasonably mature packages. Technically, KiCad and gEDA seem to be the best match to my wants. And while gEDA may be more capable, KiCad is capable enough, and is truly cross-platform. And for my purposes, that's the deciding factor.
P.S. I should mention that I found, for Windows, two "free" (no-cost) schematic CAD packages for Windows, and one PCB layout package. But with so many Linux options to choose from, I didn't bother testing to see how well the Windows programs ran under Wine.
This news item is from Goodbye, Microsoft®
( http://www.goodbyemicrosoft.net/news.php?extend.553 )
(Category: Linux)
Posted by Brad R
Sunday 31 January 2010 - 12:20:25
This is a tale of a very specialized application. I mention it not because I think anyone else reading this site will need this application, but rather, as an example of how to find specialized software for your non-Microsoft computer, and as an illustration of the wealth of software available in open source.
Among my activities, I am an electronics hobbyist. I've even designed my own computer from the logic gates up. (Not anything competitive with a modern PC, just an intellectual exercise.) Over the years, I have used an assortment of EDA (Electronic Design Automation) software including OrCad, PC-Pro, and EZ-Board. And I've encountered two problems. First, the commercial software becomes unsupported, requiring me to pay for an upgrade to the newest version (which sometimes, in turn, requires a newer computer or operating system). Second, should I want to share my designs with other hobbyists, I can't really ask them to shell out hundreds or thousands of dollars for the software I've chosen to use to draw schematics and lay out printed circuit boards.
So last week I began researching new EDA software for my PC, specifically looking for open-source, cross-platform software. Since a major goal is to share designs with others, I can't require that those others install Linux to use the software, so I want software that Windows users can use. I'd prefer cross-platform software that can run directly on Linux, but as a last resort would use Windows software if it ran well under Linux using Wine.
A few hours' work with Google turned up the following candidates:
KiCad. This is an integrated schematic/PCB (Printed Circuit Board) package that is available for both Windows and Linux. It started as a one-man project but now seems to have several developers, and an active user community.
gEDA. The gEDA project has been around for quite a while, and offers a complete suite of circuit design tools for Linux. The layout program, PCB, seems to be a distinct project. At present there is no Windows offering.
Open Circuit Design. This project offers a schematic program (xcircuit) and its own PCB program (pcb). (As nearly as I can tell, this is a "fork" of the PCB program used by gEDA.) There is a Windows port of xcircuit, but not for pcb (whose latest revision seems to have been in 2006).
Electric. This also is a mature package, and is available for Linux, Windows, and Mac. It appears that this is intended as an integrated-circuit design system, and that printed-circuit-board (PCB) design is something of an afterthought. It's a free download,
KiCad, gEDA, Electric, and xcircuit are all available from the Debian repository; another sign that these are reasonably mature packages. Technically, KiCad and gEDA seem to be the best match to my wants. And while gEDA may be more capable, KiCad is capable enough, and is truly cross-platform. And for my purposes, that's the deciding factor.
P.S. I should mention that I found, for Windows, two "free" (no-cost) schematic CAD packages for Windows, and one PCB layout package. But with so many Linux options to choose from, I didn't bother testing to see how well the Windows programs ran under Wine.
This news item is from Goodbye, Microsoft®
( http://www.goodbyemicrosoft.net/news.php?extend.553 )