The notion of connected components is quite natural when drawing schematics. And since Electric is also able to edit schematics, this style of interaction is not surprising. What is surprising is that a single user interface allows you to do both schematics and IC layout. To achieve the ability to edit all types of circuits, Electric views them as collections of nodes and arcs , woven into a network. The nodes are electrical components such as transistors, contacts, and logic gates.
Arcs are simply wires that connect the components.
Ports are the connection sites on nodes where the wires connect. This node can be scaled, rotated, and otherwise manipulated without concern for specific layer sizes. This is because rules for drawing the node have been coded in a technology , which describes nodes and arcs in terms of specific layers. Because Electric uses nodes and arcs for design, it is important that they be used to make all of the relevant connections. Although layout may appear to be connected when two components touch, a wire must still be used to indicate the connectivity to Electric.