Possibility of a FreeRouting Addon

External Plugins
#1

Hi,

I modified freeRoutiing to allow it to be used from the command line, batches and makefiles. It should be possible to make an addon to call it directly from KiCAD.

It uses the already existing -du to load the file. Then the extra command line options to route and exit after a number of iterations of the optimizer.

Add the parameter -asx Autoroute Save eXit when set with -du will load autoroute, save and then exit.
Add parameter -moi Maximum Optrermisation Iterations.

I don’t have time to create the addon myself as I’m starting but it is all uploaded here.

#2

It already exists, check plugin manager.

1 Like
#3

That one doesn’t seem to offer presetting the number of iterations needed.
Does seem auto exit when it’s done with those iterations or finished optimising.

I can’t say any more as it just shows a screen which just shows, with no clue where it has got to or that it is even processing.

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#4

If you are having issues or want more features ask on that plugins github, it’s official from freerouter maintainers.

#5

Oh it’s official is it how did that happen act of some government somewhere?
So how did they become the maintainers?
You’ll be telling me I need their permission to make changes to GPL software next.

#6

You don’t. However if you don’t have interested parties in maintaining a fork of software, it’s essentially abandonware and in many ways, trying to run your own fork when there are active mainlines of the software also further hurts development because you splinter effort and users.

Though it is funny, the freerouting github maintainers are violating GPL and copyright because they stripped the original author’s copyright header from all files. Your little fork actually doesn’t violate GPL because it kept them :wink:

But don’t take anything I say here seriously, I’m only musing hehe

#7

No idea what that is supposed to mean. It’s just a fork that is maintained and kept up to date unlike original freerouter software. You are not obligated to work with them, you just have better chances of your features being merged there and getting some support for your problems.

1 Like
#8

My little fork also predates the arrival of Fuchs who seem to have taken over. I couldn’t get anywhere with the previous admins.

I lifted it straight from the main repository so if the GPL rules are in mine they were in 2019 in theirs.

#9

Every time I check there is no one actually working on the actual code. When Java version whatever was about to go away “Java Nuts” ™ went around ‘rescuing’ abandonware. If you ever find someone that is actually looking to work on the functionality, PLEASE, invite them here. :wink:

#10

There are lots of problems with Open Source development like KiCAD and Freerouting. The one that gets me virtually every time is getting the things to build, it can be a nightmare. I misspent my pro dev career on Microsoft development. Trying to get KiCAD to build even with all the experience is a nightmare. I recently decided I’d have a look at a bug see yet again I downloaded the source but after 2 days of trying to get it to build I lost the will to do the fix and was losing the will to live.
Almost all of the projects I’ve tried to work on are end user/retail type but the developer leads are and they don’t really get the need for decent UI. Their kind of attitude is well you are being paid to use the software as part of your job, you have to put up with a crap UI. They also seem to think that a coding standard means a file formatting standard.
Having got the latest version of Routing up. I have my suspicions that they haven’t done their homework, they don’t seem to have added any way of finding out what the command line options actually are.
They have added a system where it at least stops optimizing at a certain level of something but I cannot find in the UI where you can change that. I just ran it on a board and it ended with 324+ via. I restarted the routing several times and it is now down to 178 I’m not confident it isn’t tracking the routing.

#11

Now you know why Kicad developers aren’t putting much of their resources into an auto router. :wink: Kicad builds fine for me on Linux. Debian was well behind the curve when I started so I decided just to roll my own. I kinda hate to have non packaged stuff and NOW Debian backports gets updated pretty quick. I don’t remember ever many problems getting it to compile though. Yeah, you have to get it set up, etc…

PS. I think I remember the story that the guy that originally did FreeRouting abandoned it because his employer decided it belonged to him even though not developed on his dime.

#12

This is from the latest version after one pass & 40 violations at least 2 of this blatant class if you run autoroute again they get worse.

On the one from the original or mine 7 minor violations which would not cause shorts after 40+ iterations of the optimizer.

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