The gnetman project has one simple goal: Enabling interoperability between open-source EDA tools. To date, gnetman can read and/or write (in theory) formats used by the following tools:
gschem -> .sch files -> gnetman
iverilog <--> gate-level Verilog <--> gnetman
gnetman <--> spice netlist -> ltspice or hspice or eldo or gnucap or tclspice
confluence -> gate-level Verilog -> gnetman
Other formats that still need support to be developed in gnetman include:
gate-level VHDL
EDIF netlists
In addition, an automatic schematic generator from gnetman to gschem would be highly desirable.
Gnetman can be linked as a shared or static library into any open-source EDA tool. It also has a command-line version that takes TCL scripts and command-line arguments in order to translate file formats. The latest version of gnetman is gnetman-11Dec06.tar.gz.
There is a README file in the gnetman directory that explains how to use it. The primary use so far has been for complex IC design, including mixed-signal ICs. Supported features include multi-level hierarchy, instance arrays, and buses. If you're just doing flat designs for PC boards or spice simulations, the usual path is to use the spice-sdb netlister for gnetlist.
Gnetman depends heavily on the open-source database generated called DataDraw. The latest version of DataDraw can be found at Source Forge
Anyone interested in understanding the code base can look at the Gnetman Programming page.
If you have questions or ideas for either project, feel free to send me e-mail at bill@viasic.com. I've also been reading the geda-user mailing list from the geda.seul.org site.
Bill Cox