Hi Andy,

The problem is that there is no standard format for captured schematic data. Every EDA package has its own proprietary netlist format. Once the schematic is turned into a board layout there is a nice and well defined standard format for the data, Gerber. More specifically there is the Extended Gerber format (RS247X), which includes all of the aperature lists needed for board fabrication. But no such standard exists for netlists.

So if I were going to publish a schematic on the web, I would include a graphic representation of the schematic (most likely PDF), and then I would include a netlist (in ASCII text) from whatever package I was using.

The truth is that even though they're all diverse, they're also all intuitive enough to be read as text. I suspect that it would be a fairly simple matter (like maybe a spreadsheet) to translate a given netlist into whatever format the user needs.

Joe