NMPDR Development Blog

Version 21 is now considered stable enough for testing. Among the new features that will be available in this release are:

• BlastN, DNA Scan, and Protein Scan are now available on the Tool search page (which replaces the old BLAST page).
• Search output for the Tool Search page contains more information (including the matching sequence for scans and the alignment for BLAST). Each row includes a link to a compare-region display.
• It is now possible to download search results in XML format.
• The search results use real buttons instead of fake buttons simulated using styles. The buttons are automatically converted to URLs when the results are downloaded in XML or tab-delimited format.
• You can specify the type of ID to be used when displaying feature IDs in search results. If a feature does not have an ID of the specified type, it will fall back to the FIG ID.
• Coloring is available on new-style subsystem diagrams.
• The numbers required for the semi-annual report will now automatically be generated as part of the version change process.

There was also a major upgrade to the underlying code for the search. Previously, the search was heavily biased toward searches that return features. Under the new system, the type of result is decoupled from the type of search, which makes it easier to create searches for new types of objects (such as subsystems and genomes) in the future.

The SEED Viewer has been re-activated, and can be found here. There is also a link to it in the sidebar on the front page of the Development Blog. This is the old viewer, and it is currently being used to insure that the NMPDR can support the functions needed by the SEED Viewer. The idea here is that when the new viewer is ready, we will be in a better position to couple it to the rest of the site. In the meantime, because there is no direct link to it on the website, we can test and modify it without disrupting anything on the real web site.