Kicad Databases for dummies? [TL;DR not yet at that stage - Mod]

[djsbriscoe]

I have been trying to follow this thread

KiCad: The case for Database driven design

I recently enquired on the KiCad discord channel about the ability to link a parts database to KiCad, and received the response that Database linked Libraries are planned for the V7 Kicad Release. I made a few further posts about it, but before I pressed the issue further, I wanted to better inform myself on KiCad’s capabilities. Upfront, this capability is planned for the version 7 release, so if you bear with me and read through this and think it is useful, go vote for and comment on, and pro…

But it is a bit overwhelming and difficult to follow. Has anyone got a step-by-step beginners guide to setting up a database on Windows for KiCad? Thanks.

[paulvdh]

I’m not entirely sure, but I think you’re wishing a bit much.

Best I know this database feature is still in an experimental alfa stage at the moment, and only interesting for people who have some experience with databases and can help with debugging.

[Claudio.Lorini]

KiCad: The case for Database driven design

I have moved everything to Windows now and it is working. It seems something with the WSL 2 / Ubuntu is not working as expected there. Downloaded SQLite3 (DLL and EXE) and added those to the path variable. This is the result: [image] Thank you so much for the help

Instructions TLDR;

Install ODBC driver on Windows Download the reference/test database and configuration files mentioned above Open “ODBC Data Sources” and create a new entry for user-dsn and point to the database download…

This post contains a very brief description of the steps you need to do in order to connect to the test database created by crafyjon; this db can be expanded to your liking.

I agree with paulvdh, this is a very interesting feature if you already have a database in place,
or if you have previous experience with big$$ CAD using this concept (OrCad, Altium, Mentor…)
For the general design use (hobby or small business), you can probably live happily without.

The usability and stability i think is ok, but up to now you must be willing to accept the ‘risk’ of using
the nightly releases if you are interested in using this feature… or wait for 7.0.

[davidsrsb]

@Claudio.Lorini

or wait for 7.0.

Probably just two months away.
I am hoping for a good blow by blow tutorial on this appearing. I can see databases being very useful in small companies

[craftyjon]

@paulvdh

this database feature is still in an experimental alfa stage at the moment, and only interesting for people who have some experience with databases and can help with debugging.

I would call it more “beta” at this point; as far as I know several people are using it for “serious work” now.

There is a good reason we don’t have a “for dummies” tutorial on setting up a database in the KiCad documentation: there are many ways to do it, and KiCad doesn’t want to take a stance on which is the “right one”. So, I’m hopeful that users and companies that set up database libraries will share walkthroughs of their own setups and how they are built, but also with the caveat that people trying to emulate them should understand and adapt to their own needs rather than just copy/pasting commands.

[davidsrsb]

At this stage I just want to experiment and demo possibilities.
Some of my colleagues have setup PostgreSQL and Oracle databases and have history of using SAP