Subject: Re: CCL:Collaborative software development

From: Pat Walters <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 1994 12:13:07 -0700 (MST)

Our file conversion program Babel provides another example of collaborative
development via the internet.  We designed the program with an open 
architecture which facilitates the easy inclusion of new file formats.  In
addition we have provided a "Babel Developer's Guide" which provides step
by step instructions on how to add new file formats to the program.  Adding
a new reader or writer routine typically requires less than 50 lines of C 
code.  When we released the program in December it supported 16 file formats.
Now, due to submissions from around the world, Babel supports 35 file formats
and the number is still growing.

In addition to acting as file conversion program Babel can be compiled into 
a library which can provide a variety of routines including :
- assignment of bonds
- assignment of hybridized atom types
- assignment of bond orders
- determination of interatomic distances, bond angles and torsion angles
- conversion between internal, fractional and Cartesian coordinates.
- addition and deletion of hydrogens
- a number of routines for vector manipulation

The program runs under Unix, MS-DOS, and the Mac.  I've heard that there 
are also ports to Atari and Open VMS, but I haven't seen them.

We are currently using the Babel library as the core for our development 
efforts, and we plan to release additions to Babel and the library in the 
coming months.

There will be two presentations on Babel (#36 and #37 in the Division of
Chemical Information) at the San Diego ACS meeting.

For more information on babel finger [email-masked] or
send mail to [email-masked]
_________________________________________________________________________
Pat Walters                 [email-masked]
Graduate Student
Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence in Chemistry    *
Dept of Chemistry                                    * * *  
University of Arizona, Tucson  AZ 85721              * * * 
Voice : 602-621-6334   FAX :  602-621-8407            ***
"At least it's a dry heat"                             * 
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