Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!pacbell!att-ih!ihnp4!inuxc!iuvax!pur-ee!uiucdcs!uxc.cso.uiuc.edu!uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu!conte From: conte@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu Newsgroups: sci.electronics Subject: Re: Posting schematics... Message-ID: <41500003@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu> Date: 9 Mar 88 16:44:00 GMT References: <1059@PT.CS.CMU.EDU> Lines: 31 Nf-ID: #R:PT.CS.CMU.EDU:1059:uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu:41500003:000:1590 Nf-From: uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu!conte Mar 9 10:44:00 1988 Another thing to think about when considering schemes that are purely declarative (i.e., no graphics information, just net lists and devices) is that displaying these schematics is a non-trivial task. It is pretty easy to go from a schematic to a netlist, but not so easy to go back again. The problem with a purely graphical description (MacDraw, Postscript, PiCTeX, pic, etc.) is that this does not specify any standards on how to draw a device. My op-amp may look like an op-amp to me, but you might be totally confused by it (``what the heck *is* that darn thing?''). What is needed and has been needed for some time is an annotated netlist declarative language that specifies circuit elements from a standard library, their positions on a plane, and the connections between the elements. The library would contain a graphic element for each curcuit element listed, a part number, specifications, etc. Then, this annotated netlist could be run throught a front end to display the circuit, or through another filter to produce SPICE output, or through another filter for, say, an automated wire wrapper. As a final proviso, the language should be relatively human-readable. Commenting should be supported. This is pretty close to the file format for the SCHEMA circuit design package except for the commenting. ------ Tom Conte Center for Supercomputing Research & Development University of Illinois The opinions expressed are my own, of course. uucp: ...!uiucdcs!uicsrd!conte bitnet: conte@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu arpanet: conte@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu