At 04:34 PM 9/13/2010, you wrote:
> But that is exactly what others have been saying, they are concerned
> about the file size they think they would get from XML... "I want to
> run PCB on my iPad", etc.
File size just means a bigger file to generate/parse. Doesn't affect RAM
use significantly, which is the major limit for small devices.
This year's iPad has 16 GB flash, minimum. Suppose that someone ports PCB
to iOS while they still make a 16 GB model (oh-so-likely) and that it were
allowed in the iTunes app store while containing GPL code (wanna buy a
bridge?).
Further suppose that there's a 10X file-size penalty for using XML. Let's
call the file size a PITA if it reached (say) 10% of that, 1.6 GB. (Can
you even buy a USB drive that small anymore?)
Yes, on the last board order I made the vendor sent me all my design
files on a 256 MB Flash drive with a keychain attached. So they are
still available and obviously inexpensive. However, the price of
Flash and DRAM are dropping again, so we may see the smaller units go
by the wayside soon and be stuck with 2 GB as the smallest Flash
drive on the market.
So, the questions: Who here generates PCB files as large as 160 MB on a
regular basis? And, if you answered "me," is this type of design one that
you'd prefer to edit on a small screen?
Seriously. Does anyone actually think that XML would make a
non-negligible difference one way or another about whether you could run
PCB on any forthcoming iXYZDroidBerry? This argument fails the common
sense test.
The only reason why I feel XML is a good idea is that there is
already a standard XML schema that could be used as a starting
point. As Windell says, the arguments against XML seem to be based
on some sort of bias rather than any real facts against it. But it
is pretty clear that there is little interest in making the program
similar to anything else. Maybe this is not a good idea at all. It
was just a thought.
I will say that when people use words like "bloat", "large",
"complicated", "slow", "ugly", etc., they are not discussing
engineering. They are using emotion to try to influence the
process. I just read another post on this topic that is using these
sorts of words without any clear basis. There is no point in
discussing emotionally charged issues.
Rick
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