Editing Gerber format (section)

==History==
The Gerber file format is named after [[Joseph Gerber]], an entrepreneur and inventor who pioneered vector photoplotters.<ref name="Inventor">{{cite book |author-last=Gerber |author-first=David J. |title=The Inventor's Dilemma |date=2015 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-12350-0}}</ref><ref name="history">{{cite journal |url=http://pcdandf.com/cms/designnews/8107-a-short-history-of-electronic-data-formats |title=A Short History of Electronic Data Formats |publisher=Printed Circuit Design and Fab magazine |author-first=Mike |author-last=Buetow |date=2011-06-28 |access-date=2011-12-18}}</ref>

In 1980 Gerber Systems Corp.<ref name="history"/> published the first edition of the ''Gerber Format: a subset of EIA RS-274-D; plot data format reference book'',<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AIUVcgAACAAJ |title=Google book entry on ''Gerber format: a subset of EIA RS-274-D; plot data format reference book''|year=1991}}</ref> a subset of EIA RS-274-D it used to drive their line of vector photoplotters. This format became known as Standard Gerber and was adopted by several other photoplotter vendors. Standard Gerber became the de facto standard image format for PCB fabrication.

In 1991 with the availability of the more capable raster photoplotters, the Gerber format was extended with polygon areas and "mass parameters".  These allow the user to dynamically define apertures of different shapes and sizes, as well as defining polygon area fills without the need for "painting". It became a superset of RS-274-D standard Gerber. The impetus to develop mass parameters was provided by AT&T.<ref name="Coombs2007">{{cite book |author-last=Coombs |author-first=Clyde F. |title=Printed circuits handbook |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Pbkeu6dZ_sC&pg=SA20-PA3 |access-date=2011-04-03 |date=2007-09-02 |publisher=[[McGraw-Hill Professional]] |isbn=978-0-07-146734-6 |page=18.11}}</ref> This created a family of input formats, each one dedicated to a specific Gerber plotter model. 
 
In April 1998 Gerber Systems Corp. was taken over by Barco ETS, [[Barco (manufacturer)|Barco]]'s PCB division, which is now called Ucamco.<ref name = "history"/><ref name="Barco acquistion">{{cite web |author-last=Tanghe |author-first=Jean-Pierre |title=Barco acquires Gerber Systems Corp |url=https://www.barco.com/en/News/Press-releases/BARCO-strengthens-its-position-with-the-acquisition-of-Gerber-Systems-Corporation.aspx |work=Barco.com |publisher=Barco NV |access-date=2011-11-26}}</ref> In September 1998 Ucamco published the ''RS-274X Format User's Guide'', a specification which unified the family of formats to a single image format, revoking a large number of model-specific constructs. The format became known as Extended Gerber or GerberX. Extended Gerber quickly superseded Standard Gerber as the ''de facto'' standard for PCB image data. This became the de facto image standard for the PCB industry. It is sometimes called "the backbone of the electronics industry".

In the course of 2012 the format was comprehensively reviewed in ''the great reform''. A representative library of 10,000 files from all over the world was investigated to establish current practice. Constructs that were rarely or never used were deprecated. Constructs with unclear interpretations were clarified. The specification document was re-organized and its quality improved. This resulted in revision I1 to I4 of the specification, published from December 2012 on. The result was a simple, but powerful format, focused on the current needs of the PCB industry. This version of the Gerber format was developed by Karel Tavernier and Rik Breemeersch from Ucamco.<ref name="OffWebsite"/><ref name="rev I1">{{cite web |url=http://www.pcb007.com/pages/zone.cgi?a=90088&artpg=1&topic=0 |title=Ucamco Offers Latest Gerber Format Specification |work=ucamco.com |date=2013-02-19 |access-date=2013-02-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215071903/http://www.pcb007.com/pages/zone.cgi?a=90088&artpg=1&topic=0 |archive-date=2014-12-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="attributes"/><ref name="rev I2">{{cite web |url=http://www.pcb007.com/pages/zone.cgi?a=91322&artpg=1&topic=0 |title=Ucamco's Revised Gerber Format Specification Now Online |work=ucamco.com |date=2013-02-19 |access-date=2013-02-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215071906/http://www.pcb007.com/pages/zone.cgi?a=91322&artpg=1&topic=0 |archive-date=2014-12-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="rev I4">{{cite web |url=http://www.pcb007.com/pages/zone.cgi?a=96295&artpg=1&topic=0 |title=Ucamco Enhances Gerber File Format Specification |work=ucamco.com |date=2013-11-22 |access-date=2013-11-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215070028/http://www.pcb007.com/pages/zone.cgi?a=96295&artpg=1&topic=0 |archive-date=2014-12-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In June 2013 Ucamco published a proposal to add three new commands to the Gerber format which allow inclusion of image attributes conveying metadata attached to the image and its components. It invited feedback from the Gerber users before committing these ideas to a firm specification. This process resulted in revision J1 in February 2014, updated with further revisions until revision 2015.07. Including metadata adds intelligence to the format. It converts a mere image description format to a full-fledged PCB data transfer format. This is called ''the second extension'' and results what is known as ''Gerber X2'', Gerber X1 being the pure image format. Gerber X2 is fully backward compatible with X1, as the attributes do not affect the image. Gerber X2 was developed by Karel Tavernier, Ludek Brukner and Thomas Weyn.<ref name="OffWebsite"/><ref name="attributes2 ">{{cite web |url=http://www.pcdandf.com/pcdesign/index.php/2013-archive-articles/8756-data-transfer |title=Gerber Grows Attributes |publisher=Printed Circuit Design & Fab |date=August 2013 |access-date=2012-09-05}}</ref><ref name="X2 new paradigm 2">{{cite web |url=http://www.ucamco.com/en/news/gerber-x2-the-new-paradigm-in-cad-to-cam-communication |title=Gerber X2, the-new-paradigm in CAD to CAM communication |publisher=Ucamco |date=2014-06-13 |access-date=2015-07-19}}</ref><ref name="2015.06">{{cite web |url=http://pcb.iconnect007.com/index.php/article/91445/ucamcos-gerber-now-even-clearer |title=Ucamco's Gerber Now Even Clearer |publisher=PCB007 |date=2015-07-17 |access-date=2015-07-19}}</ref>

In September 2014 Ucamco revoked Standard Gerber.<ref name="OffWebsite"/><ref name="obsolete">{{cite web |url=http://www.ucamco.com/en/news/standard-gerber-declared-obsolete |title=Standard Gerber declared obsolete |publisher=Ucamco |date=May 2014 |access-date=2015-07-19}}</ref>

In August 2015 Ucamco published a draft specification adding nested step and repeat and block apertures to make panel descriptions more efficient, calling for comments from the user community.<ref name="Nested">{{cite web |author-first=Karel |author-last=Tavernier |url=https://www.ucamco.com/downloads |title=Gerber Nested Step and Repeat - Draft |publisher=[[Ucamco]] |date=August 2015 |access-date=2015-09-19}}</ref> The final specification was published in November 2016 after substantial input. This revision was developed by Karel Tavernier and Rik Breemeersch. Shortly afterwards the Cuprum Gerber viewer developed the first implementation.<ref name="Nested 2">{{cite web |url=https://www.pcdandf.com/pcdesign/index.php/current/11245-cuprum-implements-new-gerber-tools |title=Cuprum implements new Gerber tools |publisher=Printed Circuit Design and Fabrication|date=22 November 2016 |access-date=15 March 2021}}</ref>

In July 2016 Ucamco published a draft specification to include netlist information in Gerber, calling for input from the user community.<ref name="Gerber Netlist">{{cite web |title=Gerber Component and Netlist - Draft |url=https://www.ucamco.com/downloads/gerber_component_and_netlist_-_draft.pdf |author-first=Karel |author-last=Tavernier |work=[[Ucamco]] |access-date=2016-08-11}}</ref> After a number of revisions of the draft triggered by input from users, the draft was finalized on 2 October 2016.<ref name="OffWebsite"/><ref name="Netlist KiCad"/>

In March 2017 Ucamco published a draft specification to include fabrication documentation in Gerber calling for input from the user community.<ref name="Gerber Fab 007">{{cite web |title=Ucamco Seeks Comments on Including Fab Documentation in Gerber |url=http://design.iconnect007.com/index.php/article/103090/ucamco-seeks-comments-on-including-fab-documentation-in-gerber |publisher=PCB Design |date=2017-03-08 |access-date=2017-03-19}}</ref><ref name="Gerber Fab Ucamco">{{cite web |title=A proposal to include fabrication documentation in Gerber - Draft |url=https://www.ucamco.com/files/downloads/file/209/gerber_job_parameters.pdf |author-first=Karel |author-last=Tavernier |work=[[Ucamco]] |access-date=2017-03-19}}</ref> There was a lively discussion, the draft went through seven public revisions before being finalized early April 2018.<ref name="Fab doc final 007"/>

In June 2017 a free online ''Reference Gerber Viewer''<ref name="RGV"/> was made available by Ucamco as a complement to the specification. It is updated with new functionality from time to time.<ref name="Reference Gerber Viewer">{{cite web |title=Ucamco Provides Free Reference File Viewer for Gerber Users |url=http://pcb.iconnect007.com/index.php/article/105382/ucamco-provides-free-reference-file-viewer-for-gerber-users |publisher=PCB Design |date=2017-07-19 |access-date=2017-09-22}}</ref>

In October 2019 Ucamco published a draft specification to include component information in Gerber data, calling for comments from the user community. The proposal re-uses existing syntax and hence is backward compatible. Although it does not introduce new syntax it extends Gerber into a new domain, and the name Gerber X3 is suggested. The draft specification was developed by Karel Tavernier.<ref name="Gerber X3 PCB007">{{cite web |title=Ucamco Extends Gerber into Assembly |url=http://design.iconnect007.com/index.php/article/120484/ucamco-extends-gerber-into-assembly/120487 |publisher=PCB Design |date=2019-11-07 |access-date=2019-11-18}}</ref><ref name="Gerber X3 Ucamco">{{cite web |title=Towards Gerber X3 |url=https://www.ucamco.com/en/news/towards-gerber-x3 |publisher=Ucamco |date=2019-10-25 |access-date=2019-11-18}}</ref><ref name="Gerber X3 draft">{{cite web |title=Towards Gerber X3 |url=https://www.ucamco.com/files/downloads/file/350/2019_10_11_Gerber_components_2019.10.pdf |publisher=Ucamco |author=Karel Tavernier |date=2019-10-25 |access-date=2019-11-18}}</ref>