Dear Svenn,
> Would SVG make xcircuit easier to handle in a project environment? You
> know the one where one engineer put together a module in one directory
> and another engineer binds this module into a toplevel on a different
> hierarchy? In the end, it is the netlist that matters, but getting
> there is sometimes difficult with xcircuit as the symbols of the
> missing modules are present, but that is only the self-content
> shadow, not the real thing.
I have now spent a fair amount of time attempting to hand-code bits
of xcircuit output into SVG. What I have come up with is the following:
1) You noticed that the format converters have a problem with dashed
lines. Dashed lines appear not to be part of the SVG definition,
which means they have to be tediously generated.
2) The SVG definition cannot do parameter passing. There is a simple
method for passing parameterized text strings using the <tref>
element, but Firefox doesn't implement it. I found a workaround
using Javascript, but I don't think it will allow parameters to
nest (not that anyone other than me uses nested parameters in
xcircuit).
3) The SVG definition does not define a way to make text flip invariant.
So if you flip a symbol across the X axis, any text drawn inside
that symbol will render right-to-left instead of left-to-right.
So I don't think the SVG definition is flexible enough to substitute
for PostScript in xcircuit's output format. However, as long as I
flatten the output, it should be easy enough to generate a flat SVG
format file. But you won't be able to read it back into xcircuit.
Looks like we'll have to wait for several more major revisions of the
SVG spec before that can happen (I've already complained to the SVG
working group about their lack of flip-invariant text). I suppose if
you're just looking for a way to import xcircuit files into environments
where PostScript is not conveniently handled, a flattened file should
not be an issue.
Regards,
Tim
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| Dr. R. Timothy Edwards (Tim) | email: [email protected] |
| Open Circuit Design, Inc. | web: http://opencircuitdesign.com |
| 22815 Timber Creek Lane | phone: (301) 528-5030 |
| Clarksburg, MD 20871-4001 | cell: (240) 401-0616 |
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