Updated all pot/po files (via make update-po).

[geda-gaf/peter-b.git] / gschem / TODO

TODOs
----------------------


Code cleanups (no particular order):
----------------------
        
        coding standards

        Go through and format the code.  it's really gross right now

        Re name end_angle in o_arc* to be sweep_angle

        Go through and make sure all mallocs with strings are sane

        It's becoming critical to add comments...  (very critical)

        Clean up COPY vs ENDCOPY (MOVE as well) in x_event 

        Change current_attribute and related setting funcs to be more
        generally named

        Go through and add null checks and print statements

        o_connect_midpoint etc... fix/get rid of the offset2 stuff

        IMPORTANT go through and fix object_tail and return_tail on all places

        Careful with all lists which have a head, in particular attributes,
        (they have a head, which has a null "object" pointer), which causes
        some grief, see note in o_attrib.c about the grief

        Total chaos between selected/object_head and replicated coded

        Agg! get rid of all window_current's and global_window_current

        Go through and clean up switch, case, break tabbing.
        Related to above, way too many switch/case statements... 

        The object_parent variable and how it is used, is a slight kludge,
        but I don't know of any other way of getting o_attrib_attach to
        search the right list, depending on if you are reading a regular
        component to object_head or a complex which goes to object->complex.
        It becomes an issue, that you have to search the list.

        move a_zoom a_pan to i_* world 

        perhaps rename a_basic to something else 

        go through and fix left, top, right, bottom to be what they really 
        mean (0,0 is in the lower left) 

        get some consistancy with *_world world_* etc.. *_world_*
        (in complex really)

DONE    Make zoom in, zoom out, pan a single function.  Now this is doable

DONE    Remove gd/gd.h from every file... in gschem and libgeda

DONE    Inconsistant naming of o_current, object, current etc...

DONE    Get accurate names for o_list... routines.  like o_list_delete_all
        which doesn't delete all (it doesn't delete the head)

FIRST   Figure out gtk_signal_connect and friends: proper last param.
SHOT DONE

DONE    The p_connect stuff is unused and needs to be removed 
        
DONE    Created o_net_translate_world (been using line function)

DONE    Replace all struct st_object with a typedef

----------------------



Feature additions (no particular order):
----------------------

        Seperate translate in the X and Y directions (in addition to the 
        current coupled X and Y translate)

        Simplify i_update_* so that static strings are being re-set 
        constantly


        Added rc keyword for pin/net thickness (the value) and for visual
        cue size
        
        there was an analog to the 'array' command  where you select
        a group of stuff and hit array, enter the number of rows and
        columns, and the relative spacing between them, and the copies
        the thing nxm times and draws it all for you.

        when first editing a text object, after the popup box appears with
        the highlited selection, hitting the right arrow key would clear
        the highlight and keep the cursor at the end of the text. 

        Text as objects: Visual texts to be selected separately. All
        text geometry stored relative to its "mother object" so that
        the text moves when the "mother" does.

        Go through and make sure everything has a default (every release)

        Added LogFilename keyword 

        Document all the features of the dialog boxes (returns etc...)

        Document filename naming restrictions: 
                - Symbols are named filename.sym
                - Schematics are named filename_#.sch  where # is sheet number
                - Sym/Sch names need to be unique.
                - ONE dot per filename! 

        Generalize the way source files are displayed, ie if you get a .gif
        the program should run a image program, use mime.types and mailcap
        for this

        Change directory option? 

        Open symbol pops up a new window, configurable through rc file

        Configurability of mouse button order (left vs right handed)

        Configurable "hit return and close dialog box" for attributes,
        components etc... 

        Configurability as to what mode a cancel (with right mouse button)
        does.

        Breaking of nets when you connect in the middle.

        Two "indicators" in some way (suggest to the right of the pulldowns)
        that indicates if you're in 'toggle snap' or not, and if you're in
        'toggle grid' or not. 'Toggle grid' might not be useful because you
        should see it :-)  Then 'Toggle outline' is another choice?

        Another menu option to rotate one component? Or check if the
        selection is just one component and via a gschemrc item give the
        user the possibility to rotate the component around it's origin
        or a common point? Rotate more selected objects the way it is
        implemented now.
        
        Complex within a Complex?
        Probably not yet at least not yet. (might work mostly now, but not
        completely)  This is not the same thing as hierarchical design.
        
        A set of compile or runtime flags to control "fluff" (ie make things
        go as fast as possible) 

        metric units instead of mils (in addition to mils)

        Not sure I like that selectable vs unselectable flag in complex's
        Fix with locking layers

        Fix o_edit to handle multi edits.  Should be just a code clean:
                get rid of all direct access to new_sel_head and friends        
                pass in structure that is being edited...
                Move object/structure code out of x_dialog.c 

        PIN/NET thickness configurability

        Add code so that when you switch between actionfeedback modes
        and your inside an action you get instant feedback 

        Not a well behaved X program: finish wm hints, icon, X commandline args
        etc... 

DONE    Add config option for geometry of the window. (or command line option)


DONE    Fix the stupidity of when net consolidation is on, you unselect 
        everything.  This was temporary till you rewrite 
        o_net_consoliate_lowlevel (in libgeda)

DONE    Code to have all attributes visible

DONE    Make sure snap spacing is set to 100 when doing symbol translates
        (warn user in log window)

DONE    Added the ability to rotate embedded components

DONE    Fix the color scheme and make it flexable.

OKAY    Figure out if you want the net draw/add action to end when you draw
        a zero length net (configureable?) 

DONE    Check and see what we are doing with invisible attibutes, if we are
        rendering them or not (to speed things up), fixed by NOT creating
        the attribute (or text)

DONE    Check for incorrect angles on text... warn user

DONE    Add dashed lines etc...

DONE    When you rotate a component, associated attributes get de-assosciated
        write code to fix this

DONE    Search for schematic in memory and don't load it from disk if it is.

DONE    Add the ability to specify $HOME in an rc file for a path
        ( do you want to do ~ as well? )

DONE    Do sanity checks on all drawing input

DONE    Better handling of dot/square size routine drawing based on zoom 
        factor

DONE    Don't allow zero length objects in general

DONE    Alignment of text objects

DONE    Move schematic filenames toward the _# convention.  Where the #
        (is a number) signifies the sheet number it's on.  Will make moving
        between sheets easier.

DONE    A toggle invisiblity ALL objects

DONE    Automatic saving

DONE    mouse coordinates

DONE    Document the ortho/non ortho ability of nets 

NAH     Consider using an aspect frame to control the aspectratio of the 
        drawing area (enforce aspect ratio then indirectly)

DONE    Dialog box for printing...
(first cut)

DONE    Default behavior of caps vs case sensitive labels/text? 
        make this configurable 

GONE    fix dialog box to be able to handle NEW discards... see NEW define
        in x_filesel.c

DONE    Editing of objects:
                TEXT - color size string
                LINE/CIRCLE/ARC/BOX color endpoints?
                NET/COMP ???? 

DONE    configuration ability for ortho pins and nets
        This wasn't done, but you can draw non-orth lines and nets. (non ortho
        pins might be added later)

OKAY    Pins need their own conn_recalc routine

DONE    Boxes (box and selection) that go in both directions... left->right 
        right->left 

DONE    Attribute dialog box.  which lets you select the standard attributes

DONE    Font system must be replaced by a more flexable system.  Ie arbitrary
        text sizes allowed and the choosing of the font should be based on
        zoom_scale.

DONE    Add lock down component code and interface hook.

DONE    Add a new dialog box for saving and managing pages.  Use a different
        mechanism for calling the saveas dialog box. 

DONE    Panning: the working area follows the mouse.

DONE    Move/Copy actions start right away after hot key press

DONE    Go back and look at 4 nets coming together problem (not showing dot)

DONE    Added text dialog box which behaves like attribute add.

DONE    Better toggle buttons for visibility etc (sub instead: GtkSpinButton)

MOSTLY  Object clipping...
DONE

WORKING component slotting (ie dealing with the number of slots in a packages)

WORK    Analog support (draw symbols)
IN
PROGESS

Second TODO list

0 = every release
1 = just started
2 = crude basics working
3 = mostly working
4 = a lot fluff added
5 = done

easy:   
0       remove all // comments
        comments in the code
        Control-C handler
        checks for all system calls (with perror)       
        update specs
        crosshair
1       buses
1       macro/extensiable lang
1       Make symbol (odd bug with hitting S twice then it works ? )
2       cleanup printfs
3       object clipping out of active window
3       dashed lines (slightly hard, but time consuming to change code value?)
3       sloting (as in pin numbers in multpacks) of components
3       console
3       Standard place for symbols/symbol hierarchy
4       stretch/edit of nets
4       newer net system
4       color selection (better color handling)
4       boundingbox vs outline
4       hierarchical design
4       pins (still need to check conn funcs)
4       interface cleanup
4       multibuffers (make sure all routines don't hardcode new_sel_head)
5       rotate of complex
5       logging mechanism
5       push/pop into a symbol
5       mirror of primatives
5       mirror of complex
5       arcs
5       rotate of primatives
5       attributes 
5       zoom box
5       text (vector font)
5       finer grid (selectable snappage)
5       page system
5       multi select box! / window select 
5       contrained move/copy
5       fix all return values
5       Change color of highlight to light grey
5       prototypes for everything
5       Change file format to use letters for types instead of #'s
5       outline copies should be more color realistic
5       middle button to repeat last command?
5       attributes with names= etc...   
5       backingstore and improved expose event handling
5       multi select 
5       scrollbars
5       Contrained lines (with control key like o_drawbounding())
        

medium:
        netlists (belongs in gnetlist)
        layers

harder:
        transparent zooms and pans
        client lib to do above and protocol
        cut and paste

questionable:
        active attributes
        HUD
        have cursor jump around if snap on

MISC
-------------

-       A solution to the current block problem (offset wrong) is to
        write out the block as it is in memory to the file.. and then
        when it is loaded again it will be correct... hmmmmm.. use
        the left/top coords as the starting x and y then instead of the
        original pair... 

-       A better solution would be to translate all the objects to zero zero
        and then save the object as a symbol.   
        Of course this is what I did

        Requires a color display

        Doesn't work too well with AutoRaise
        This has improved, but I still need to work on this.


misc FAQ 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q:  Copying/Moving objects that aren't on the grid, causes them to snap
    onto the grid if snap is on.  What's the deal with that? 

A:  This is a "normal" behavior.  It is an artifact of how I do grid/snap 
    locking.  Don't move/copy objects which are not snapped to the 
    grid with snap on.  Since this is not a general purpose drawing program,
    don't work with the snap off.  You should only have to do that if you are
    adding text in key places or drawing symbols.  I am thinking on how 
    to improve my snap/grid locking to be more robust. 




REWRITES
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- A possible redo of the boundingbox idea, what if you searched through
  all individual boundingboxes on all objects (especially complex)

- Coord system needs total rewrite.  Maybe not, but it is lacking in that
  it is based on ints



Misc Stuff todo:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

midpoint droppings on moves/copies



Suggested ideas: 
-----------------------

(this list is not complete, there are still many more people who suggested 
stuff, and each of the listed people suggested other things.  I just 
haven't had time to move the ideas from my mailbox to here)

suggestions by:  Andrew Dyer 
- View logic compatibility
- web enabled : schematics/symbols/models viewing/distributing on the web etc.
- in-memory connections database
- revision control (cvs rcs)
- infinite undo
- EDIF (and tango netlists) and other friends 
- extension lang/ macro lang (tcl, forth ? )
- EDITOR support for editing big symbols
- arrow key support

suggestions by: Erik de Castro Lopo
- SPICE netlist format
- Scrollbars and a better zoom (center of window)
- properties dialog box for components
- Design Rule Checking and dialog box suggestions
- better window/aspect ratio control (get rid of mostly)
- more dynamic window size (give user more control)

suggestions by: Emmanuel Rouat
- connected nets staying with components with distortion. 

suggestions by: Matt Ettus
- RCS/CVS support (another vote for this)
- project management program ("glue" between programs)
- remove concept of filename from gschem ???  (a design librarian)

suggestions by: borges@ifi.uio.no
- Set a dialog box size on component select.
- escape key to cancel.
- libraries with this subsloting idea? .
- Scrollbar on the middle button (configuration)
- toolbox with icons.
- alternate move/copy behavior.  Just select object and drag.  

suggestions by: Harry Eaton
- spread-sheet window that contains properties of whatever you're 
  interested in on the schematic (could be a list of elements, names, 
  spice model names, package types, etc, or a list of nets, and their 
  properties) 

suggestions by: Kyriacos Iacovou
- draw/outline commands with the mouse to select the various modes   

suggestions by: Stefan Petersen
- As few keystrokes/mouse clicks as possible -> stay in mode until users 
  selects a new mode 
- alternate move/copy behavior:  Just click and drag. 

suggestions by: Jeff McNeal
- Another vote for nets update when you move a component
- Strokes.  A la CADENCE or Mentor.
- Go to FreeHDL intermediate format instead of VHDL? 

suggestions by: Michael Linnemann <Linnemann@berg.net>
- A manual keyboard search entry for entering symbols.
- better symbol lookup searching catagorizing mechanism

suggestion by: Magnus Danielson <cfmd@swipnet.se>
- Oh, shouldn't we rewake the idea of a symbol/symbol library contribute
button?  You know, when a user wishes to contribute a symbol, a number
or symbols or even a full library (directory) he/she can just walk down
the File menu and select Contribute Symbol... which will do screening,
encapsuling and then mail/ftp the symbol to you (geda.seul.org).



Future Specifications for gschem 
-----------------------

Basic Stuff
-------------
text
        add
        edit
nets
        be one complete net (not done yet)
        add to existing net
        break net
        (filled|empty) squares/cross at the end of nets
        (filled|empty) circles at midnet connection points
boxes
circles
ellipses?
lines
pins
busses
arcs 
complex
        add
        push
        pop
        create symbols
attributes
        attach
        detach
        edit
        execute special action 
        value=name
Layers

Operations (for all objects)
----------
copy
move
delete
cut and paste
Constrained/Free move (SHIFT/CTRL keys)
outline/move
multiselect/deselect (SHIFT/CTRL keys)
select box
rotate? 


View
----
Zoom in/out
Zoom Full
Pan
Redraw

Other stuff
----------
Page system (neads to be done early)
page size selection
Zoom box (?)
Printing to postscript
all units in mils

File
----
        open
        close
        save
        save as
        rcfile handling         
                color selection
                mode selection
                library path selection


interface
---------
        Flexable interface      
        should be easy to use   
        console
        scripting language