[Ktechlab-devel] User specified devices.

[Alan Grimes]

The greatest challenge in the parts library is to expand it while
retaining the simplicity of the current design. Most other electronics
suites are hamstrung by their parts libraries.

I would suggest having a tree-hierarchy of parts where the most
generic/abstract are at the top and, from there, you can drill down to
specific components.

The issue is that the parts catalogs have tens of thousands of relevant
parts and we only have time enough to write/debug a few of them.

There are two ways a part can be generated. The first is a method
pioneered by an ancient video game called Robot Odessy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot_Odyssey
http://www.droidquest.com/

This will let you build modules that can be correctly simulated by a
subcircuit. The basic model is for the user to create a circuit and add
it to the library as a DIP.

Abstract components should be built-in.

However, other components should be user editable. My grand dream is for
a component editor that allows the user to create components including
the schematic symbol, the linear model, and possibly even the governing
equations through mathML and an equation solver (I think there are a few
out there), these equations would be objects and it should be possible
to incorporate them into the simulator.


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