[Xcircuit-dev] taps

[Tim Edwards]

Jan,

> the breaks at alloc: invalid block: 0x9. . .  happen when I do alt-w on a net where the input of the tap
> is a line that disappears in the blue and has no name. Connecting the wire to a bus with a dot solves the
> connectivity but gives an error in the tckcon terminal whenever ANY net is highlited:
> -------------
> File PromReader.ps saved (1 page).
> Error:  attempt to connect bus size 8 in PromReader to bus size 0 in generic::dot
> Network is "VccSw" in PromReader
> -------------
> 
> The breaks at alloc: invalid block: 0xa. . .  happen, I think, when I have opened a library page to
> fetch a symbol and I accidentally click on the place where there is a named net in the drawing underneath.
>  but it could also be another place. Difficult to ascertain.

The examples/buses.ps file works for me, so without having a copy of the
PromReader schematic, I can't really diagnose the problem.  I tried to
duplicate the problem, but could not do so.

> And last:
> does the direction of a line (the order of drawing) influence the
> connectivity?? I have a symbol of a usb connector that lights up
> completely with all connected nets when a net connected to one of
> the pins is highlited. Other symbols build in the same cripple fashion
> do not do this.

Since XCircuit can handle both symbols and in-line subcircuits, you have to
distinguish between the two.  Since symbols are mostly used to generate netlists,
they usually come with "info labels" to tell the netlister how to generate the
output.  If there's no info label, XCircuit will treat the lines inside the
symbol as actual wires.

So one way to fix the problem is to create an info label inside the symbol.
It doesn't have to be a real netlist directive;  any text will do.  Another
way to fix the problem would be to replace the box outline in the symbol
with a closed polygon---what you have is an open polygon with two ends
touching, which XCircuit treats as a wire.  A closed polygon, such as a
box made with the 'b' key, is treated as an outline, not a wire.  That is
probably why other symbols you made don't have the same problem as this one.

> And lastlast:
> editing a line width or a text hight does not trigger the page dirty flag.
> You have to force a write-all after such a modification.

I'll fix this.

						---Tim

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| Dr. R. Timothy Edwards (Tim)   | email: tim at opencircuitdesign.com    |
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