<s>
KiCad	B-Language
(	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
suite	O
for	O
electronic	O
design	O
automation	O
(	O
EDA	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
features	O
an	O
integrated	O
environment	O
for	O
schematic	O
capture	O
,	O
PCB	O
layout	O
,	O
manufacturing	O
file	O
viewing	O
,	O
ngspice-provided	O
SPICE	B-Protocol
simulation	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
engineering	O
calculation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
KiCad	B-Language
was	O
created	O
in	O
1992	O
by	O
Jean-Pierre	O
Charras	O
while	O
working	O
at	O
IUT	O
de	O
Grenoble	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
name	O
came	O
from	O
the	O
first	O
letters	O
in	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
a	O
company	O
of	O
Jean-Pierre	O
'	O
s	O
friend	O
in	O
combination	O
with	O
the	O
term	O
CAD	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
KiCad	B-Language
originally	O
was	O
a	O
collection	O
of	O
electronics	O
programs	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
conjunction	O
with	O
each	O
other	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
,	O
KiCad	B-Language
started	O
gaining	O
significant	O
traction	O
and	O
a	O
larger	O
developer	O
base	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2013	O
the	O
CERN	O
BE-CO-HT	O
section	O
started	O
contributing	O
resources	O
towards	O
KiCad	B-Language
to	O
help	O
foster	O
open	O
hardware	O
development	O
by	O
helping	O
improve	O
KiCad	B-Language
to	O
be	O
on	O
par	O
with	O
commercial	O
EDA	O
tools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
2013	O
until	O
approximately	O
2018	O
CERN	O
provided	O
two	O
developers	O
part	O
time	O
to	O
help	O
improve	O
KiCad	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Much	O
of	O
the	O
work	O
provided	O
by	O
CERN	O
involved	O
massive	O
refactoring	O
of	O
the	O
code	O
base	O
to	O
give	O
KiCad	B-Language
a	O
better	O
structure	O
to	O
grow	O
and	O
adapt	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Help	O
is	O
also	O
provided	O
by	O
organizing	O
donations	O
and	O
fundraisers	O
to	O
help	O
pay	O
for	O
additional	O
contract	O
developers	O
for	O
KiCad	B-Language
,	O
along	O
with	O
sponsoring	O
KiCad	B-Language
's	O
web	O
infrastructure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
major	O
milestone	O
was	O
hit	O
in	O
December	O
2015	O
starting	O
with	O
KiCad	B-Language
4.0.0	I-Language
,	O
the	O
first	O
KiCad	B-Language
release	O
adopting	O
a	O
point	O
release	O
versioning	O
scheme	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
KiCad	B-Language
joined	O
the	B-Operating_System
Linux	I-Operating_System
Foundation	I-Operating_System
in	O
November	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
two	O
lead	O
developers	O
formed	O
a	O
services	O
corporation	O
in	O
2019	O
to	O
help	O
provide	O
additional	O
paid	O
development	O
support	O
for	O
KiCad	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
KiCad	B-Language
uses	O
an	O
integrated	O
environment	O
for	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
stages	O
of	O
the	O
design	O
process	O
:	O
Schematic	O
capture	O
,	O
PCB	O
layout	O
,	O
Gerber	O
file	O
generation/visualization	O
,	O
and	O
library	O
editing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
KiCad	B-Language
is	O
a	O
cross-platform	B-Operating_System
program	O
,	O
written	O
in	O
C++	B-Language
with	O
wxWidgets	B-Language
to	O
run	O
on	O
FreeBSD	B-Operating_System
,	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
and	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
also	O
tools	O
to	O
help	O
with	O
importing	O
components	O
from	O
other	O
EDA	O
applications	O
,	O
for	O
instance	O
EAGLE	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
also	O
third	O
party	O
libraries	O
available	O
for	O
KiCad	B-Language
,	O
including	O
SnapEDA	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Digi-Key	O
KiCad	B-Language
Library	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Configuration	O
files	O
are	O
in	O
well	O
documented	O
plain	O
text	O
,	O
which	O
helps	O
with	O
interfacing	O
version	B-Architecture
control	I-Architecture
systems	I-Architecture
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
with	O
automated	O
component	O
generation	O
scripts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
KiCad	B-Language
schematic	O
editor	O
has	O
features	O
including	O
hierarchical	O
schematic	O
sheets	O
,	O
custom	O
symbol	O
creation	O
,	O
electrical	O
rules	O
check	O
(	O
ERC	O
)	O
and	O
integrated	O
ngspice	B-Algorithm
circuit	O
simulation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internally	O
KiCad	B-Language
's	O
PCB	O
editor	O
supports	O
up	O
to	O
32	O
copper	O
layers	O
and	O
32	O
technical	O
layers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
external	O
tools	O
have	O
been	O
developed	O
following	O
the	O
addition	O
of	O
python	O
scripting	O
integration	O
in	O
to	O
KiCad	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
3D	O
PCB	O
viewing	O
function	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
STEP	O
and	O
VRML	B-Application
models	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
board	O
model	O
can	O
be	O
exported	O
for	O
CAD	B-Application
integration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
12	O
March	O
2015	O
Olimex	O
Ltd	O
,	O
a	O
provider	O
of	O
development	O
tools	O
and	O
embedded	O
device	O
programmers	O
,	O
announced	O
that	O
they	O
have	O
switched	O
from	O
EAGLE	B-Language
to	O
KiCad	B-Language
as	O
their	O
primary	O
EDA	O
tool	O
.	O
</s>
