Search found 18 matches

by yayahjb
Mon Jan 09, 2012 8:11 pm
Forum: CIF Application Programming Interface
Topic: Requirements for "core" features
Replies: 9
Views: 64254

Re: Requirements for "core" features

Strange to say, fortran 77 is still heavily used. Now that there is an ISO C-binding spec for fortran 2xxx, C can be used to support fortran reasonably well, but even in that case there are people who absolutely refuse to mix C and fortran for sound reasons. SAX and DOM are good illustrations of the...
by yayahjb
Mon Jan 09, 2012 7:43 pm
Forum: CIF Application Programming Interface
Topic: Scope of the API - features
Replies: 14
Views: 79529

Re: Scope of the API - features

jcbollinger wrote: What design-level difficulties might arise from addressing validation after designing at least a rough version of the some of the other, more universal API features? Or else, how might an API design that addresses validation be distinguished from one that addressed only James's li...
by yayahjb
Mon Jan 09, 2012 4:08 pm
Forum: CIF Application Programming Interface
Topic: Requirements for "core" features
Replies: 9
Views: 64254

Re: Requirements for "core" features

I would suggest two separate efforts: 1. A simple event-driven parser/writer for applications requiring a light footprint; and 2. A full stored tree/database based parser for maximal functionality In either case, we need to be able to simultaneously open multiple CIFS and dictionaries for read/write...
by yayahjb
Mon Jan 09, 2012 3:47 pm
Forum: CIF Application Programming Interface
Topic: Scope of the API - features
Replies: 14
Views: 79529

Re: Scope of the API - features

As previously noted, I think failing to make allowances for validation in the initial design will greatly increased the difficulty in incorporating it later, while designing to include validation from the start costs very little and, when properly done can easily be turned off when efficiency or oth...
by yayahjb
Fri Dec 23, 2011 10:22 pm
Forum: CIF Application Programming Interface
Topic: Scope of the API - features
Replies: 14
Views: 79529

Re: Scope of the API - features

The most difficult cases to handle without a dictionary that I encounter are unquoted string of digits with leading zeros and embedded pluses hyphens. These could be intended as numbers or as serial numbers in bibliographic context or as symmetry operations. Having the dictionary type specified grea...
by yayahjb
Fri Dec 23, 2011 8:31 pm
Forum: CIF Application Programming Interface
Topic: Scope of the API - features
Replies: 14
Views: 79529

Re: Scope of the API - features

Certainly many CIFs can be parsed successfully without recourse to a dictionary. However, there are also CIFs for which parsing without a dictionary can be difficult (e.g. due to confusion between strings and numbers). If we are trying to design a common API to be used by a wide range of application...
by yayahjb
Fri Dec 23, 2011 3:48 am
Forum: CIF Application Programming Interface
Topic: Scope of the API - features
Replies: 14
Views: 79529

Re: Scope of the API - features

Validation is difficult to add later if it has not been provided for in the initial design. If the concern is efficiency, I would suggest designing on the basis of a validating parser and then providing the option of a bypass of the validation for efficiency.
by yayahjb
Thu Dec 22, 2011 11:23 pm
Forum: CIF Application Programming Interface
Topic: Scope of the API - CIF coverage
Replies: 1
Views: 27710

Re: Scope of the API - CIF coverage

Unless we want CIF to diverge even more than it already has into conflicting dialects, it would be desirable for any common API to support as wide a range of CIF variants as possible. The parametrized model followed by gcc come to mind. gcc uses command line options to allow correct compilation of a...