XSCHEM Reviews

Best schematic editor among open source schematic editors (and better many commercial ones), the flexibility and speed of interface/graphic are incredible. Support is fast and precise, author responds very fast to bug reports and features requests. There is a learning curve, but it is a price for flexibility. Feature of displaying result waveforms allows to avoid any external waveform viewer, especially it's ability to view mixed signals in one windows, side by side.

It's a couple of months I'm using xschem for the development of standard cells and embedded SRAMs and everything looks fine. The tool is clearly conceived making leverage on a deep experience as a semiconductor designer (netlist generation is very fast) and the connection with ngspice and most common waveform displayers is smooth. In combination with klayout Xschem becomes a very powerful system for both analog and digital design. I strongly recommend Xschem also for more complex design.

If you're a Cadence user this schematic editor will feel pretty natural, right down to the bindkeys (not 100% 1:1, but pretty close). Symbol creation is easy and netlisting very configurable (if you like). SPICE netlisting works. The "learning curve" is about as light as it gets (unlike other tools like XCircuit, which is capable but requires you to unlearn all of your mouse and keyboard habits). I am using Xschem, ngspice and klayout to do professional analog IC design. Xschem slowed me down not one bit, from a cold start, and lets me do what I need to do without a lot of distractions. The developer has been very responsive about tricks, tweaks and "huh?".