Robert wrote: >> > Specifically, the American Chemical Society now provides MOL files >> and >>> other online content in the Web versions of their publications, but >>> it does not deliver applets to render the content. (Maybe it >>> should, but it doesn't.) >> >>(Perhaps we should suggest that they consider using Jmol :-) > > Actually, I've already done this.
Good. > (I think I suggested Marvin, too, > which is free to scientific publishers, but Jmol would be just as good > or better.) The publishers at ACS, though, are novices when it comes > to Web content. The first time I published a paper with MOL files as > EWOs (Extended Web Objects, their name for Web-only content) in late > 2002, I had to back-and-forth with them a dozen times before I could > convince them that they needed to include the MIME type of the MOL file > when they delivered it to the browser. I have just > published another paper with MOL files as EWOs, and now they have > stripped all of the return characters from the MOL files (probably from > transferring them across platforms), so even Chime can't display it > properly. I alerted them to the problem several days ago, and it still > hasn't been fixed. :-( :-( > The problem is made worse by the fact that the publishing folks don't > like to communicate directly with the authors. They want the editors > to act as a buffer. Then communication ends up like the child's game > of Telephone. Argh! > > In any case, if you can convince ACS to deliver applets along with the > EWOs, you will have done a great service to the chemistry > community. Meanwhile, though, we need another solution. This is not something that I can pursue ... I have no contacts nor experience with them. >>Here are my personal thoughts/comments ... in random order: >> >>* In general, it is extremely expensive to develop and maintain >> plug-ins. To the best of my knowledge, there is no well-defined >> standard Plug-in architecture (although Netscape's API is probably >> somewhat standard). This means that plug-ins have to be developed on a >> per platform/browser basis. This is very costly and painful, and can >> only be undertaken by companies that have significant financial >> resources. That is why Chime went down the toilet. >> >>* The Applet architecuture was designed to replace this. Everyone fell >> in love with Applets because they were supposed to solve this problem >> ... cross-platform compatibility and a standard interface to the >> Browser. >> >>* It is possible to install an applet locally. This is called a >> *signed* applet. >> >>* It may be possible for us to create a JmolApplet that could be >> installed locally as a signed applet and would operate offline by >> detecting the mime-type ... I do not know ... but I will put it on my >> list of things to investigate. > > A signed applet would be a great alternative to a plug-in. I didn't > know such a thing was possible. To date I have not pursued this very much ... I have been focusing on base functionality and not on the delivery method. But your justification is a good one, and may cause an adjustment in my 'priority list'. > This morning I also sent an email to Manfred Schubert, who has > created at least two very nice plug-ins for Safari > (http://www.schubert-it.com), about converting Jmol to an applet. Maybe > you can get in touch with him and discuss the possibilities. I will take a look at his site. Miguel ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: IBM Linux Tutorials Free Linux tutorial presented by Daniel Robbins, President and CEO of GenToo technologies. Learn everything from fundamentals to system administration.http://ads.osdn.com/?ad_id=1470&alloc_id=3638&op=click _______________________________________________ Jmol-users mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/jmol-users
