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Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2018 05:23:05 +0200 (CEST)
X-X-Sender: igor2 AT igor2priv
To: geda-user AT delorie DOT com
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From: gedau AT igor2 DOT repo DOT hu
Subject: [geda-user] [pcb-rnd] plans for after 2.0.0
Message-ID: <alpine.DEB.2.00.1806060522150.8169@igor2priv>
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Reply-To: geda-user AT delorie DOT com

Hi all,

TL;DR version:

The 1.2.x series was mainly about the large scale data model rewrite,
starting with the layer rewrite, ending with padstacks. This was an
unstable period in our project's history, with a large amount of new
features and concepts introduced on the deepest, but user visible levels
of the code. This period has ended with releasing 2.0.0, and a more
stable period follows when we can build on the new infrastructure.

It took more than 10k commits to get here, but we managed to do it all
in a "rolling" manner: many users being able to do production work
using latest svn versions. Special thanks to these users for their
patience, testing and feedback.


Details:

Pcb-rnd 2.0.0 concludes a lot of important changes: the decision was
explicit about batching up a few major changes that were pending for
long. Most notably:

- the new data model is now exclusive (as a side effect users have to
re-learn some aspects of using the tool)

- we have a new, more efficient and new-user-friendly menu system (as a
side effect existing users have to re-learn the menu/key bindings).

The good news is that batching these changes means pcb-rnd won't need to
do such daily-use affecting changes for some time now. The next development
cycle will be about rendering optimization and bugfixes. Then come a few cycles
that replace/upgrade essential core infrastructure to enable new
range of features later, but these changes will not have much visible
effect in daily use. Other than that, a lot of work will be put in
the second generation of scripting and other plugins - features that
are extending pcb-rnd without too much alteration of existing code
and user practices.

Looking back:

During the 1.2.x era we managed to resolved the 'Big Three' problems:

- we now have official Debian coverage and we are getting in rpm based distros 
as well

- we now have (yet incomplete, but) usable documentation, including a
searchanble knowledge pool

- we have an actively maintained opengl HID

--
Best regards,

Igor2