I'm sure i'm not saying anything new.
Anyway, I've been using dip for some years now, but i never was satisfied with the way the component libraries are managed.
Most manufacturers have a very diverse catalog and they keep adding components all the time.
For example, Microchip makes
- PICs, with many different families and many parts for each family with new pics/family every 3-6 months
- memories, same
- Opamps, same
- Linear regulators, same
- Switching regulators, same
- RF products, same
- Transceiver, same
IMHO a better way to organize the library would be to have a first selection of manufacturer, then family (then sub family), then product
otherwise we either have a long number of libraries or fewer libraries but with a very long list of components (very slow to load)
it would be also easier/faster to update only a sub-library at a time, Community could be really of help, making and submitting changes and updates. on a smaller library they would be easy to review
Thoughts?
Thoughts on library management
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Re: Thoughts on library management
I agree in part. The problem is that companies keep sucking up other companies or changing their name. Actually, a better way to deal with this is more of a database display issue. Parts should able to be sorted as a user wants them to be.
Imagine needing a real time clock for a design. You sort by function, then manufacturer, and maybe even pad style (SMT vs DIP), then you get a list of parts for that function. You can then checkout the manufacturers, look at design tradeoffs with the datasheets, check pricing, etc.
You have used a specific chip before, so you sort my manufacturer and part #.
I just looked at AutoTRAX today and they actually have a 100K parts library. It was so convoluted that searches took 30 seconds and the organization was haphazard. If I could have twisted it into a list by manufacturer, it would have been easy to work with.
Imagine needing a real time clock for a design. You sort by function, then manufacturer, and maybe even pad style (SMT vs DIP), then you get a list of parts for that function. You can then checkout the manufacturers, look at design tradeoffs with the datasheets, check pricing, etc.
You have used a specific chip before, so you sort my manufacturer and part #.
I just looked at AutoTRAX today and they actually have a 100K parts library. It was so convoluted that searches took 30 seconds and the organization was haphazard. If I could have twisted it into a list by manufacturer, it would have been easy to work with.