>it's still called "schematic capture" in contrast to "PCB design"
So what is it called when I capture a schematic in order to do some SPICE simulations on it? "PCB design minus the designing PCB part"?
"Capture" in this context means "the act of putting information in a form that a computer can use or read"¹, so I don't see how the phrase "schematic capture" is archaic when it mentions computers in its definition.
Are you arguing that a term can't be archaic because its definition has the word "computer" in it? That's silly.
The term capture comes from a time when ECAD programs were unwieldy and difficult to use (we're talking 60s and 70s) and components weren't as complex so engineers first designed the schematic using pencil and paper and only then "captured" it in a digital format using an ECAD program. We design circuits and yet still capture schematics because of the usability of half century old software.
So what is it called when I capture a schematic in order to do some SPICE simulations on it? "PCB design minus the designing PCB part"?
"Capture" in this context means "the act of putting information in a form that a computer can use or read"¹, so I don't see how the phrase "schematic capture" is archaic when it mentions computers in its definition.
¹http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/capture