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To: geda-user AT delorie DOT com
cc: karl AT aspodata DOT se
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Subject: Re: [geda-user] Symbol attributes
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Comments: In-reply-to "Girvin R. Herr" <girvin DOT herr AT sbcglobal DOT net>
   message dated "Thu, 19 Jul 2012 10:47:37 -0700."
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Message-Id: <20120720073140.8BE58827EB3E@turkos.aspodata.se>
Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2012 09:31:40 +0200 (CEST)
From: karl AT aspodata DOT se (Karl Hammar)
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Girvin Herr:
> According to the gEDA/gaf Symbol Creation Document:
> 
>     * device=DEVICENAME should be placed somewhere in the symbol and
>       made invisible.  ... This attribute should not be used as a label.
>       Use a separate text object for the label.  ... "
> 
> Although many of the library symbols violate this "requirement" and use 
> "device" as the value-visible device name, i.e. "7400", in the 
...

I'm writing a symbol generator and my take on this is (from my
programs help text):

   Invisable atttributes (will have the "visible" flag not set)
...
    5. device
        The type of things that the sybol represent. If the symbol
        represents a family of devices, use the family name, else use a very
        short description, e.g. "ATMega_x8" or "Resistor". No default.
...
   Visable attributes (will have the "visible" flag set)
...
    2. description
        Like "device", but a little more verbose.

    3. value
        Like "device"/"description" described above, but more specific. E.g.
        "ATMega_88", "100R" (Ohm). Defaults to "device".

If I'm correct in the above, it make sense to make "device" invisible,
the symbol graphics, "description", and "value" should be enought.

"device=7400" could be considered a "family" (if you wish), with
"value=74ALS00" being more specific. To be even more specific you
could have, as you mention, a partnumber or ordernumber.

Regards,
/Karl Hammar

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