Suggestion to improve dia as a electronic schematic editor.
Add a name to each connection point of an object. By default, the name
could be the indice of the connection point.
Line segment should be linkable to constitute a net. It should be
possible to move a segment without losing the connection to other
segments. Moving a extremity of a segment move all the attached segment
extremities. Polyline seems to be a good candidate. It should be
possible to draw segments constraint to be vertical or horizontal.
Finally, in a electrical circuit schematic there is a dot where more
than two segments intersects.
For Custom object, add a optionnal *.properties xml file corresponding
to a *.shape file. This file would define the default properties of the
object. Each proporties would include
a name,
a value type (bool, string, integer,..),
a value,
a position point realtive to the object
some properties (readable,writable,name visibility, value visibility,
...).
These porperties could be edited in a CList widget in the second page of
a notebook in the properties dialog. The first page being the properties
dialog of the current version.
It would be convenient to be able to add new properties. Edited
properties should be saved with the diagram.
Usually in a schematic editor it is possible to name a link between
several connections (net). It could be performed by attaching a text
object to the net but it supposes that a text object own a connection
point. Or a net could be named by a connection to a specific circuit
element. This element would include a "name" property. This name would
be interpreted by the net list generator as a macro naming the net. The
last option don't need to change the diagram editor.
These improvements would permit to generate a net list from a circuit
schematic. The resulting net list could be used as an entry to a
simulator as SPICE or to a printed circuit board layout editor. The net
list would be generated by a dedicated application which would interpret
the diagram file saved by dia.
Note that all these improvements could benefits to other purposes than a
electronic circuit editor.
