EAGLE is a scriptable
electronic design automation
Electronic design automation (EDA), also referred to as electronic computer-aided design (ECAD), is a category of software tools for designing Electronics, electronic systems such as integrated circuits and printed circuit boards. The tools wo ...
(EDA) application with
schematic capture
Schematic capture or schematic entry is a step in the design cycle of electronic design automation (EDA) at which the electronic diagram, or electronic schematic of the designed electronic circuit is created by a designer. This is done interactiv ...
,
printed circuit board
A printed circuit board (PCB; also printed wiring board or PWB) is a medium used in Electrical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering to connect electronic components to one another in a controlled manner. It takes the form of a L ...
(PCB)
layout
Layout may refer to:
* Page layout, the arrangement of visual elements on a page
** Comprehensive layout (comp), a proposed page layout presented by a designer to their client
* Layout (computing), the process of calculating the position of obj ...
,
auto-router
In electronic design, wire routing, commonly called simply routing, is a step in the design of printed circuit boards (PCBs) and integrated circuits (ICs). It builds on a preceding step, called placement, which determines the location of each ...
and
computer-aided manufacturing
Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) also known as computer-aided modeling or computer-aided machining is the use of software to control machine tools in the manufacturing of work pieces. This is not the only definition for CAM, but it is the most ...
(CAM) features. EAGLE stands for Easily Applicable Graphical Layout Editor (german: Einfach Anzuwendender Grafischer Layout-Editor) and is developed by
CadSoft Computer GmbH
EAGLE is a scriptable electronic design automation (EDA) application with schematic capture, printed circuit board (PCB) layout, auto-router and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) features. EAGLE stands for Easily Applicable Graphical Layout ...
. The company was acquired by
Autodesk Inc.
Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational software corporation that makes software products and services for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, education, and entertainment industries. ...
in 2016.
Features
EAGLE contains a
schematic editor
A schematic editor is a tool for schematic capture of electrical circuits or electronic circuits.
Schematic editors replaced manual drawing of schematic diagrams, but they still retain the capability of outputting schematics on specially format ...
, for designing
circuit diagram
A circuit diagram (wiring diagram, electrical diagram, elementary diagram, electronic schematic) is a graphical representation of an electrical circuit. A pictorial circuit diagram uses simple images of components, while a schematic diagram s ...
s. Schematics are stored in files with .SCH extension, parts are defined in device libraries with .LBR extension. Parts can be placed on many sheets and connected together through ports.
The
PCB
PCB may refer to:
Science and technology
* Polychlorinated biphenyl, an organic chlorine compound, now recognized as an environmental toxin and classified as a persistent organic pollutant
* Printed circuit board, a board used in electronics
* ...
layout editor stores board files with the extension .BRD. It allows
back-annotation
In electronic design, a netlist is a description of the connectivity of an electronic circuit. In its simplest form, a netlist consists of a list of the electronic components in a circuit and a list of the nodes they are connected to. A networ ...
to the schematic and auto-routing to automatically connect traces based on the connections defined in the schematic.
EAGLE saves
Gerber and
PostScript
PostScript (PS) is a page description language in the electronic publishing and desktop publishing realm. It is a dynamically typed, concatenative programming language. It was created at Adobe Systems by John Warnock, Charles Geschke, Doug Br ...
layout files as well as
Excellon and
Sieb & Meyer
Sieb is a surname and given name. Notable people with the name include:
Surname
* Armindo Sieb (born 2003), German professional football player
* John L. Sieb (1864–1941), American politician and barber
* Wally Sieb (1899–1974), American pr ...
drill files. These are standard file formats accepted by
PCB fabrication companies, but given EAGLE's typical user base of small design firms and hobbyists, many PCB fabricators and
assembly shops also accept EAGLE board files (with extension .BRD) directly to export optimized production files and
pick-and-place data themselves.
EAGLE provides a multi-window graphical user interface and menu system for editing, project management and to customize the interface and design parameters. The system can be controlled via mouse, keyboard hotkeys or by entering specific commands at an embedded
command line
A command-line interpreter or command-line processor uses a command-line interface (CLI) to receive commands from a user in the form of lines of text. This provides a means of setting parameters for the environment, invoking executables and pro ...
. Keyboard hotkeys can be user defined. Multiple repeating commands can be combined into
script files (with file extension .SCR). It is also possible to explore design files utilizing an EAGLE-specific object-oriented programming language (with extension .ULP).
History
The German CadSoft Computer GmbH was founded by Rudolf Hofer and Klaus-Peter Schmidinger in 1988 to develop EAGLE,
a 16-bit PCB design application for
DOS
DOS is shorthand for the MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS family of operating systems.
DOS may also refer to:
Computing
* Data over signalling (DoS), multiplexing data onto a signalling channel
* Denial-of-service attack (DoS), an attack on a communicat ...
. Originally, the software consisted of a layout editor with part libraries only. An auto-router module became available as optional component later on. With EAGLE 2.0, a schematics editor was added in 1991.
The software used
BGI video drivers, and XPLOT to print.
In 1992, version 2.6 changed the definition of layers, but designs created under older versions (up to 2.05) could be converted into the new format using the provided UPDATE26.EXE utility.
EAGLE 3.0 was changed to be a 32-bit
extended DOS application in 1994.
Support for
OS/2
OS/2 (Operating System/2) is a series of computer operating systems, initially created by Microsoft and IBM under the leadership of IBM software designer Ed Iacobucci. As a result of a feud between the two companies over how to position OS/2 ...
Presentation Manager Presentation Manager (PM) is the graphical user interface (GUI) that IBM and Microsoft introduced in version 1.1 of their operating system OS/2 in late 1988.
History
Microsoft began developing a graphic user interface (GUI) in 1981. After it per ...
was added with version 3.5 in April 1996. This version also introduced multi-window support with forward-/backward-annotation, user-definable copper areas, and a built-in programming language with ULPs. It was also the first to no longer require a
dongle
A dongle is a small piece of computer hardware that connects to a port on another device to provide it with additional functionality, or enable a pass-through to such a device that adds functionality.
In computing, the term was initially synonym ...
.
In 2000, EAGLE version 4.0 officially dropped support for DOS and OS/2, but now being based on
Qt 3 it added native support for
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
and was among the first professional electronic CAD tools available for
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
.
A 32-bit
DPMI version of EAGLE 4.0 running under DOS
was still available on special request in order to help support existing customers, but it was not released commercially. Much later, in 2015, a special version of EAGLE 4.09r2 was made available by CadSoft to ease installation under
Windows 7
Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, 2009. It is the successor to Windows Vista, released nearly ...
.
Starting with version 4.13, EAGLE became available for
Mac OS X
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. Within the market of ...
, with versions before 5.0.0 still requiring
X11
The X Window System (X11, or simply X) is a windowing system for bitmap displays, common on Unix-like operating systems.
X provides the basic framework for a GUI environment: drawing and moving windows on the display device and interacting wi ...
. Version 5.0.0 officially dropped support for
Windows 9x
Windows 9x is a generic term referring to a series of Microsoft Windows computer operating systems produced from 1995 to 2000, which were based on the Windows 95 kernel and its underlying foundation of MS-DOS, both of which were updated in subs ...
and
Windows NT
Windows NT is a proprietary graphical operating system
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
Time-sharing operating systems sc ...
3.x/4.x in 2008. This version was based on
Qt 4
The latest version of Qt is 6.5 released on 3 April 2023.
Also still supported, for commercial users, are 5.15 LTS, released on 26 May 2020, and 6.2 LTS, released on 30 September 2021 – long-term support (LTS) versions are generally supported f ...
and introduced user-definable attributes.
On 24 September 2009,
Premier Farnell
Premier Farnell Ltd is a distributor of products for electronic system design, maintenance and repair throughout Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, with operations in 36 countries and trading in over 100. In October 2016, the firm was purc ...
announced the acquisition of CadSoft Computer GmbH.
Version 5.91.0 introduced an
XML
Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language and file format for storing, transmitting, and reconstructing arbitrary data. It defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable ...
-based file format in 2011 but continued to read the older binary format. It could not, however, write files in the former format, thereby not allowing collaboration with EAGLE 5.12.0 and earlier.
EAGLE 6.0.0 no longer supported Mac OS X on the
Power PC platform (only on Intel Macs), and the minimum requirements were changed to Mac OS X 10.6, Linux 2.6 and Windows XP. This version also introduced support for
assembly variants and
differential pair routing with length matching and automatic
meander
A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank ...
ing.
Version 7.0.0 brought hierarchical designs, a new gridless topological pre-router called "TopRouter" for the conventional
ripup-and-retry auto-router as well as
multi-core support.
Version 7.3.0 introduced native 64-bit versions for all three platforms in 2015. Version 7.6.0 dropped support for the 32-bit Mac OS X version in 2016. EAGLE 6.x.x continues to read EAGLE 7.x.x design files for as long as the hierarchical design feature isn't used.
On 27 June 2016,
Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software corporation that makes software products and services for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, education, and entertainment industries. Autodesk is headquartered ...
announced the acquisition of CadSoft Computer GmbH from Premier Farnell, with Premier Farnell continuing to distribute CadSoft products for Autodesk.
Autodesk changed the license to a
subscription-only model starting with version 8.0.0 in 2017. Only 64-bit versions remain available. The file format used by EAGLE 8.0.0 and higher is not backward compatible with earlier EAGLE versions, however it does provide an export facility for saving an EAGLE 7.x compatible version of the design.
On 7 January 2020, EAGLE 9.5.2 was discontinued as a standalone product and only licensed to users as a bundled item (Fusion Electronics) with an
Autodesk Fusion 360
Fusion 360 is a commercial computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), computer-aided engineering (CAE) and printed circuit board (PCB) design software application, developed by Autodesk. It is available for Windows and m ...
subscription license.
The last standalone version of EAGLE is 9.6.2 as of 27 May 2020. Fusion Electronics design files carry a version 9.7.0 designation.
License model
Since EAGLE version 8.0.0, there are Premium, Standard, Free, and Student & educator editions, with the Standard and Premium versions sold on a monthly or annual subscription basis, requiring online reactivation at least every 14 days (30 days since version 9.0).
In January 2020, EAGLE 9.5.2 was discontinued as a standalone product and is only licensed to users as a bundled item with an
Autodesk Fusion 360
Fusion 360 is a commercial computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), computer-aided engineering (CAE) and printed circuit board (PCB) design software application, developed by Autodesk. It is available for Windows and m ...
subscription.
Comparison of features for the various available editions:
For comparison, the former (no longer obtainable)
perpetual licensing scheme
A software license is a legal instrument (usually by way of contract law, with or without printed material) governing the use or redistribution of software. Under United States copyright law, all software is copyright protected, in both source c ...
for EAGLE 7.x.x with costs referring to the 2016 prices for a single-user license:
Community
A large group of textual and video tutorials exists for beginners to design their own PCBs.
The
DIY
"Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...
electronics site
SparkFun
SparkFun Electronics (sometimes known by its abbreviation, ''SFE'') is an electronics retailer in Niwot, Colorado, United States. It manufactures and sells microcontroller development boards and breakout boards. All products designed and produce ...
uses EAGLE and releases the EAGLE files for boards designed in-house. SparkFun Electronics
is a company that has grown due to the hobbyist market exemplified by ''
Make
Make or MAKE may refer to:
* Make (magazine), a tech DIY periodical
*Make (software), a software build tool
*Make, Botswana, in the Kalahari Desert
*Make Architects
Make Architects is an international architecture practice headquartered in Londo ...
'' magazine and others. Many of these companies offer EAGLE part libraries
which define schematic shapes, pinouts, and part sizes to allow for correct layout in the PCB layout editor.
Other popular libraries include
Adafruit
Adafruit Industries is an open-source hardware company based in New York City. It was founded by Limor Fried in 2005. The company designs, manufactures and sells a number of electronics products, electronics components, tools and accessories. It ...
,
Arduino
Arduino () is an open-source hardware and software company, project, and user community that designs and manufactures single-board microcontrollers and microcontroller kits for building digital devices. Its hardware products are licensed unde ...
,
SnapEDA,
and Dangerous Prototypes,
element14
Farnell element14 is a distributor of products for electronic system design, maintenance and repair. Operating in 28 countries across Europe, with two regional distribution hubs in Belgium and the UK, it employs circa 1,200 people. It is the ...
(a subsidiary of Farnell, former owners of CadSoft) also have some libraries available from their site.
Using ULPs to convert EAGLE .BRD files into
Specctra
Specctra is a commercial PCB auto-router originally developed by John F. Cooper and David Chyan of Cooper & Chyan Technology, Inc. (CCT) in 1989. The company and product were taken over by Cadence Design Systems in May 1997. Since its integration ...
-compatible design files (with file extension .DSN) it is possible to export designs for usage in conjunction with advanced external autorouters such as
KONEKT ELECTRA,
Eremex TopoR or Alfons Wirtz's
FreeRouting.
For further touching-up the finished designs in session format can be imported back into EAGLE via .SES to .SCR script file converters.
Controversies
In spring 1991 the dongle protection scheme of EAGLE 2.0 had been
cracked
Cracked may refer to: Television
* ''Cracked'' (British TV series), a 2008 British comedy-drama television series that aired on STV
* ''Cracked'' (Canadian TV series), a 2013 Canadian crime drama series that aired on CBC
* "Cracked", a Season 8 ( ...
causing a decline of 30% in sales, while sales for a reduced demo version with a printed manual saw a significant increase.
As a consequence in 1992 CadSoft sent thousands of floppy disks containing a new demo of EAGLE 2.6 to potential users, in particular those who had ordered the former demo but had not subsequently bought the full product.
The new demo, however, also contained spy code scanning the user's hard disk for illegal copies of EAGLE.
If the program found traces of such, it would show a message indicating that the user was entitled to order a free printed manual using the displayed special order code, which, however, was actually a number encoding the evidence found on the user's machine.
Users sending in the filled out form would receive a reply from CadSoft's attorneys.
The act of spying, however, was illegal as well by German law.
In 2014, EAGLE 7.0.0 introduced a new
Flexera
Flexera is an American computer software company based in Itasca, Illinois.
History
On 1 April 2008, Macrovision sold its software division to the Thoma Bravo investment fund, which became Acresso Software. Macrovision subsequently changed ...
FLEXlm
FlexNet Publisher (formerly known as FLEXlm) is a software license manager from Flexera Software which implements license management and is intended to be used in corporate environments to provide floating licenses to multiple end users of comp ...
-based licensing model, which wasn't well received by the user community, so that CadSoft returned to the former model of independent perpetual licenses with EAGLE 7.1.0.
Despite announcements to the contrary in 2016, Autodesk switched to a subscription-only licensing model with EAGLE 8.0.0 in January 2017.
Without an online connection to a licensing server to verify the licensing status every two weeks (four weeks since version 9.0.0), the software would fall back to the functionality of the freeware version.
This caused an uproar in the user community, in particular among those who work in secure or remote environments without direct Internet access and users for whom it is mandatory to be able to gain full access to their designs even after extended periods of time (several years up to decades) without depending on third-parties such as Autodesk to allow reactivation (who may no longer be around or support the product by then). Many users have indicated they would refuse to upgrade under a subscription model and rather migrate to other electronic design applications such as
KiCad
KiCad ( ) is a free software suite for electronic design automation (EDA). It facilitates the design and simulation of electronic hardware. It features an integrated environment for schematic capture, PCB layout, manufacturing file viewing, ...
.
See also
*
Comparison of EDA software
This page is a comparison of electronic design automation (EDA) software which is used today to design the near totality of electronic devices. Modern electronic devices are too complex to be designed without the help of a computer. Electronic dev ...
*
List of free electronics circuit simulators List of free analog and digital electronic circuit simulators, available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and comparing against UC Berkeley SPICE.
Some of the following simulators don't include a graphical visual interface, so a separate program must be ...
*
Video Disk Recorder
Video Disk Recorder (VDR) is an open-source application for Linux designed to allow any computer to function as a digital video recorder, in order to record and replay TV programming using the computer's hard drive. The computer needs to be eq ...
(VDR) – another software written by Klaus-Peter Schmidinger
Notes
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
* (NB. Includes a copy of EAGLE 4.09r2.)
External links
* (Autodesk's EAGLE web support forums)
* news://news.cadsoft.de (CadSoft's EAGLE support newsgroups via NNTP)
* ftp://ftp.cadsoft.de/eagle/ (CadSoft's archive of old EAGLE versions)
{{CAD software
Autodesk acquisitions
Electronic design automation software
Electronic design automation software for Linux
Engineering software that uses Qt
Proprietary software that uses Qt
Software that uses Qt
1988 software