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Maple

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    Maple got a reaction from KP99 in Circuit Design Software On Linux   
    Circuit Design Software On Linux:
    As Linux OS have become one of the most popular opensource OS for Servers and Desktop, many software will release a linux version . It also applies to the circuit design software .Since we are using the Linux as our Operationg System , and We would like to search some Circuit Design Software Based On Linux .
    So let me introduce some types of Circuit design software in order to make readers more esaily choose their favorite Linux-based software .
    1.EasyEDA . As a cross-platform Circuit desgin software , which is used on the browser and stored on the clound server . EasyEDA provides shematic capture , pcb layout , spice simulation and online pcb order functions which will give you an easy EDA design journey and make your circuit design work more easily and more productively . You could run it on windows , mac , linux or android platform ,as long as there is one brwoser on the OS and connecting to network.
    Let me have a preview of what EasyEDA provides :
    I.Schematic capture
    This is a most important function of the circuit design software ,almost every circuit design software provides schematic capture function . Because it is the basic entrance of understanding the circuit you design . What is more ,it could be used to be converted into pcb design file .
    Here is a screenshot of one scheamtic :

    One Schematic—Arduino 2560 Schematic
    II.Spice simulaton .
    There are many spice simulation tools such as Multisim , Proteus, Ltspice , KtechLab .
    EasyEDA provides many simulation models and the quick way to building models for Integrated circuits .
    Also ,EasyEDA provides Waveform viewer to preview the simulation results .

    Spice Simulation Example .

    Spice Simulation Waveform Viewer
    III.PCB layout
    Almost all circuit design softwares provide PCB layout function .
    This is the way to produce the PCB board and the basic tool.
    EasyEDA provides laying out unlimited pads , size of the boards , and more than 6 layrers of PCB Boards.

    PCB Layout
    IV.Import from third-party EDA Tools
    EasyEDA can import files from Altium Designer , LTspice ,Eagle, Kicad .
    V.Export Files
    EasyEDA can export EasyEDA source ,SVG source ,SVG file ,Image(png),and Pdf files.
    VI.PCB Order .
    EasyEDA provides online ordering PCB. When completing your Circuit PCB Design , if you do not want to spend much time on making your own PCB , you could order online PCB .

    2.DipTrace
    The second most popular software running on linux I would like to introduce is DipTrace .
    DipTrace is an EDA software for designing schematic and PCB boards .
    It is based on Windows ,Mac , Linux .
    The Developers provide mutil-lingual interface and tutorials .
    DipTrace has 4 modules: Schematic Capture Editor, PCB Layout Editor with built-in shape-based autorouter and 3D Preview & Export, Component Editor, and Pattern Editor.
    There are some basic Features about DipTrace :
    I.Simple UI
    II.Multi-sheet and hierarchical schematics
    III.High-speed shape-based autorouter
    IV.Smart manual routing tools
    V.Wide import / export capabilities
    VI.Advanced verifications with real-time DRC
    VII.Real-time 3D PCB preview & STEP export
    VIII.Manufacturing output
    There are five modules for DipTrace .

    Schematic Capture

    PCB Layout

    3D Preview and Export

    Component Editor

    Pattern Editor
    3.gEDA
    gEDA is so important for it is firstly started in an effort to remedy the lack of free software EDA for Linux/Unix . And one of the long standing goal for gEDA is to provide a suite od EDA application for Linux .
    All applications in the gEDA suite compile and run on Linux. So it is the software that I could not miss on introducing circuit design software on Linux.
    There are three main features gEDA provides:
    I.gEDA provides schematic capture :

    II.gEDA provides PCB Editor

    III.gerber file viewer

    Here I should have to mention the term “gEDA Suite”.
    The term“gEDA”refers to all free software projects and applications that have asscioated with the gEDA project .
    These include:
    · gEDA/gaf - gschem and friends (the original project)
    · PCB - PCB layout program
    · Gerbv - Gerber file viewer
    · ngspice - a port of Berkeley SPICE
    · GnuCap - A modern electronic circuit simulation program
    · gspiceui - A GUI front end for ngspice/GnuCap
    · gwave - An analog waveform viewer
    · gaw - An analog waveform viewer a rewrite of gwave. Works with gspiceui.
    · Icarus Verilog - A Verilog simulator
    · GTKWave - A digital waveform viewer
    · wcalc - Transmission line and electromagnetic structure analysis
    For the importance of Linux to electronic design ,the open-source developers recognize it many years ago , and the gEDA is the proof of their early insight .
    The gEDA Project remains a federation of software tools developed by different (but sometimes overlapping) programmers.
    The thread which holds the project together is the shared vision of creating a powerful, community-based, open-source EDA toolkit.
    4.Qucs
    Quite Universal Circuit Simulator (Qucs) is an open-source electronic circuit simulator software release under the GPL .
    It give you the ability to setup a circuit with graphical user interface and simulate the large-signal, small-signal and noise behaviour of the circuit.
    Qucs supports a growing list of analog and digital components as well as SPICE sub-circuits. It is intended to be much simpler to use and handle than other circuit simulators like gEDA or PSPICE.

    5.Magic
    Now let me introduce a very-large-integration layout tool originally written by John Ousterhout his graduate students at UC Berkeley during the 1980s.
    As a free and opensource software ,subject to the requirement of BSD Licence ,Magic continues to be popular because it is easy to use and easy to expand for specialized tasks .
    Magic is widely cited as being the easiest tool to use for circuit layout, even for people who ultimately rely on commercial tools for their product design flow.

    So far I have recommend several circuit design tools on Linux .
    There are also Kicad ,eagle ,Fritzing,Open Circuit Design, and some other kinds of software that can run on Linux .
    As for the restriction of article length, Here I do not list all the circuit design software with detailed descriptions .
    Hope you could enjoy the free and all-platform supported tools like Easyeda, the linux-originated software tool like gEDA, the very-large-integration layout tool like Magic etc .
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