Lots of good ideas in here! Sorry if my responses are short -- I gotta run soon.
> - Noweb: I don't know anyone who has benefit of using it. I am not a fan of noweb, but I have learned to live with it. Anyway, I understand that Patrick, who has contributed a large number of very valuable patches, is the primary motivator behind noweb. I wouldn't want to alienate him since his work has been valuable in the past, and will likely be valuable in the future. Therefore, I wouldn't dump noweb unless Patrick himself wants to do it. > - OK/cancel buttons: I completely agree with your proposal to make the buttons work the same way as the Gnome (and Windows and Mac) standard. Moreover, it is a quick and easy change, so doing it will be quick. BTW: Did you look at how the buttons work in gattrib? I have forgotten . . . . > - Unsaved schematics warning when exiting: I always have to read the > text to know what button I should click on. I think it can be improved > with Discard/Save/Cancel buttons, and a text explaining the situation. I agree with having three buttons. Again, how does gattrib do it? It's been a while since I have used it and my memory is showing signs of advancing age. . . . > - Heavy/light symbols: I am a light symbol kind of guy, and I am happy with the way gEDA/gaf works now. Also, I don't have time to respond thoughtfully to this one. Perhaps later . . . . > - Heterogeneus parts: this is the hardest thing to code. Using the > symbol inheritance, we can define a per-slot symbol. The idea is that > gschem be aware of parts, and part slotting, keeping track of what slots > are currently used/unused, and changing the symbol if needed when you > change the slot attribute. I know heterogeneus parts can be used now, > assigning the same refdes to two different symbols, but I'd like a more > automated way. No comment, except that what you wish for is complicated. > - Attributes for packaging/automated refdes assignation: currently if > you want to use an heterogeneus part, you have to assign the same refdes > to the symbols by hand. I'd prefer to assing some attribute which tells > gschem/gannotate that those symbols should be in the same physical part, > and if there can be another symbols automatically packaged into that > part or not (maybe another attribute). It's like a "part set": if two > symbols have the same part set, they should have the same refdes. Maybe > this "part set" attribute can be like a description (I won't like it to > be just a number, since I want to reuse a schematic across projects, and > I don't want to track the numbers myself) added by the user, and the > annotation utility should be aware of these special ones. No comment, except that what you wish for is complicated. . . . :-) > - Autosaving: Great idea! Also, I prefer real_name.sch~. And don't delete teh autosave file since a backup with valid stuff in it is important. > - Autosaving when crashing: Here's a suggestion, whcih is a variant of your proposal: 1. gschem generates a backup file of the old schematic when you read it in. Call it real_name.sch~ 2. Gschem generates an autsave file every 1 minute. Call it #real_name.sch#. I believe this is how emacs works, and since emacs makes all computing simple we should follow its example. Also, rather than making gschem handle the question of which file to import, let the user just mv the files around on the command line (or let the project manager deal with it). BTW: Have you looked at the project manager "geda" and how it handles these issues? I am thinking that we should try to bring it up to the same level as the rest of gEDA/gaf. Stuart
