The discussion list described below will be of interest to anyone wishing to develop software that reads or writes CIF files. (I sure hope there are at least a few people in the powder community who fit that description.) Brian > Announcing a new discussion list for developers of CIF software. > > The Crystallographic Information File (CIF) sponsored by the IUCr is a > standard for information interchange in crystallography. First published > in 1991 to describe single-crystal experiments and data for small-molecule > structures, CIF now covers macromolecular structure determinations and > powder diffraction studies, and extensions are under development for > image data, modulated aperiodic structures and other techniques and > disciplines within crystallography. > > Although each CIF application uses the same basic file syntax, content is > determined by external files (known as data dictionaries) that specify the > relevant data model and carry information about data typing, validity and > interrelationships. While customised applications can be written to utilise > specific sets of subsets of CIF data, the most powerful applications are > dictionary-driven, so that they can use or be easily modified to use new sets > of data items as they are released. > > Authors of software capable of handling CIFs are invited to subscribe to a new > discussion list for the sharing of experiences, information and code. The list > is open to anyone with an interest in developing software that is compliant > with the published standards for reading and writing CIF data, and is also > relevant to developers of software for the more general STAR File structure > that defines the syntax of CIFs. Authors of publicly distributable software are > especially welcome, but authors working in a commercial environment will also > benefit from membership. The one strict condition imposed by the IUCr on > CIF-compliant software is that it should indeed comply with the standard; it > is hoped that the existence of a list such as this will halp developers to > work within the standard, and to develop robust cross-platform libraries and > tools for general use in the community. > > Mailings to the list should be sent to the address > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To subscribe, send an email message to the address > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > that contains a line of the form > subscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] <your-name> > > Further details may be found on the web page > http://www.iucr.org/iucr-top/lists/ > Initially the list will be moderated (though the list manager reserves the > right to moderate responses if there is an unacceptable level of junk mail); > an archive of discussions will be accessible via the web at the URL > indicated above. > > A supporting web page for developers will be maintained by the IUCr COMCIFS > team at http://www.iucr.org/iucr-top/cif/developers.html, which will include > a Frequently-Asked Questions (FAQ) page. > > Please forward this invitation to colleagues who may also be interested in > this list. > > Brian McMahon, IUCr, Chester, UK > Coordinating Secretary, COMCIFS > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
