Comment by kev009
21 hours ago
It's probably a simple economics thing. You can hire out a contract PCB design for a reasonable cost and the long poll is getting back physical prototypes. Contrast to HDLs displacing schematic based designs for ASICs and programmable logic, where simulation allows for rapid development.
I'd say it's significantly different because you can get a physical PCB prototype in days for a few dollars while an ASIC prototype takes months and millions.