Subject: Re: CCL:Java and other WWW developments

From: [email-masked] (Rzepa,Henry)
Date: Fri, 12 Apr 1996 19:32:08 +0000

Paul Weber writes

>A common vision is to think of the Browser as the new desktop, or GUI to
>your work.   You might, in the not too distant future, get a chemistry
>version of "plug and play" where a molecule sketched in a Tripos applet is
>used to pull out compounds from an MDL database, some of which are then
>minimized using the Merck FF, all on the same page (which could then be
>stored or "registered" as a notebook page that could be searched later).

The Web as a new operating system metaphor is also the objective of the
X-Window consortium, and perhaps even  Apple OpenDoc/Cyberdog.
Thus what Paul Weber writes seems pretty much on the ball!

>I think that it is a good time for the community to search for acceptable
>standards, such as SGI's Molecular Inventor, Tripos's SLN, DayLight's
>SMILES, or the PDB (yuck). The chemistry community could then promote the
>use of these standard formats by all software producers, whether garage-shop,
>grad student, or public company.

Somehow I doubt we will end up with only one.  But I
fully endorse the need to search for standards. Perhaps I
should note that IUPAC is convening a new committee,
CPEP (printed and electronic publications) which takes
Internet standards as one of its major briefs.  It
will only respond to what the community wants (I
hope). If people want to go  "off-line" from this forum to
discuss these issues, do post to
[email-masked]

>Watch the Web for more big developments soon!

Do  I take this to mean that with conventional chemistry software
markets perhaps stagnant or certainly not expanding as fast as in the
past, the "Internet" is viewed by all as the great new white hope?
We can all only benefit it this is so!