Make FreeRouting work again

[Andras Fuchs]

Application: kicad
Version: 4.0.1-stable release build
wxWidgets: Version 3.0.2 (debug,wchar_t,compiler with C++ ABI 1009,GCC 5.2.0,wx containers,compatible with 2.8)
Platform: Windows 8 (build 9200), 64-bit edition, 64 bit, Little endian, wxMSW
Boost version: 1.57.0
         USE_WX_GRAPHICS_CONTEXT=OFF
         USE_WX_OVERLAY=OFF
         KICAD_SCRIPTING=ON
         KICAD_SCRIPTING_MODULES=ON
         KICAD_SCRIPTING_WXPYTHON=ON
         USE_FP_LIB_TABLE=HARD_CODED_ON
         BUILD_GITHUB_PLUGIN=ON

((I have Windows 10 64bit, not Windows 8 as stated above))

I wanted to use the auto-routing the other day when I realized that it doesn't work with the latest Java version (v1.8.0_77).

The Free Routing source code was released and made to work on the new Java version in the https://github.com/cchamilt/FreeRouting repo.

After installing JDK and a half day of trying I could compile and run it on Windows.
Please find the two attached batch files which I used (you need to change the path of the JDK in them if you don't have the latest v1.8.0_77)

Just unpack the files, copy them into the repo's root directory and execute them.

[Jeff Young (jeyjey)]

Is this something we'd consider (to allow more user choice), or do we just want to concentrate on the PNS router?

[Maciej Suminski (orsonmmz)]

@Andras, Do you know about the Push and Shove router? Are there any Freeroute features that you consider superior when compared with KiCad's router?

@Jeff, I would rather find out why people keep using Freerouter and in case there are issues with PNS - just fix them. We have never maintained Freeroute and these days it seems like an abandoned project, mostly due to legal issues in the past.

[Jeff Young (jeyjey)]

Cool; I'll mark this a incomplete to try and get some more specifics on what might be missing from PNS.

[Andras Fuchs (andras-fuchs)]

Hi guys, to be honest I didn't know about PNS one and half years ago when I last used routing in KiCad.

The files I attached to this bug report made my Freeroute work and I used it on my PCB for autorouting.

I would be glad to try Push and Shove router next time, does it have an autorouter as well? I could give you some feedback then.

[Wayne Stambaugh (stambaughw)]

@Andras, Freerouter was only a temporary measure to provide KiCad users with easy access to a decent auto-router. It will no longer supported in the upcoming version 5 release of KiCad and is not something the project will continue to support. AFAIK, Freerouter is not longer being maintained. That being said, I'm sure other users would like to use Freerouter to edit KiCad boards. Maybe you should start a new project on github or some other code hosting service to provide support for users who wish to continue to use Freerouter.