Category: Mixed Signal

Netlist

Netlist is a tool that converts Gschem schematics into NGSPICE compatible netlists. It has a powerful set of features for defining libraries, directories, simulation parameters etc, but at the same time is very simple to use. Based on SPNET by Anthony Shanks, and re-written by Justin Fisher and Andreas Pircher of Pircher-Software, Netlist works with hierarchical schematics without any extra inputs on the schematic.

Netlist will create a hierarchical NGSPICE netlist from the top level schematic and was designed with a view to creating a simulation GUI for NGSPICE.

In the coming weeks and months, we’ll be using Netlist exclusively in our Education blog.

Gschem

Gschem is a schematic capture program and is part of the gEDA tool set. It supports multiple page schematic capture as well as hierarchical design. In the coming weeks and months, we’ll be using Gschem in our NGPICE tutorials in our Education blog.

Gschem has a number of script utilities to allow the user to archive designs, check symbol syntax and compare it to a schematic, create basic symbols from a schematic, compare schematic versions and more besides.

gEDA itself is is a GPL’d EDA suite. Asides from schematic capture, it contains tools for creating PCB’s, digital simulation and synthesis with Verilog, and a digital waveform viewer.