ChemDoodle
As canvas gets more popular, we are beginning to see it being used for more diverse applications and tools. Take ChemDoodle, for example, an open source chemistry and chem-informatics toolkit where canvas is being used to solve common chemistry related tasks, displaying the molecules in a variety of different ways.
There are 6 different components to ChemDoodle, each of which use canvas to display the end graphics. Some also allow the user to interact through mouse and keyboard gestures.
ChemDoodle is incredibly comprehensive
- The Viewer component solves the common problem of representing molecules as image data. With canvas, images can be generated, and changes can be made without needing to redraw parts of the image.
- The Rotator component shows off your ball and stick and wireframe diagram rotating them on either a 2D or 3D axis.
- The transformer component allows the user to move (right click and drag), rotate (left click and drag) and scale the molecules (mouse wheel).
- The Doodler component allows the user to draw out molecules and save them out to a file.
- The MolGrabber component hooks up to an external database and uses canvas to return diagrams of molecules.
- And File Loader will load a saved file back in to the canvas object.
Kevin Theisen, the man behind ChemDoodle claims that ChemDoodle “will revolutionize how chemical data is handled on the web, by replacing images and applets with powerful and secure native browser components.”
It certainly seems comprehensive!
Comments
Kevin Theisen
Thanks for the coverage Andi!
I would also like to mention that Google Chrome Frame ( http://code.google.com/chrome/chromeframe/ ) now provides Internet Explorer with the tools necessary to run Canvas projects. The installation is fairly invisible and it is very easy for developers to integrate. Version 2.5 of the ChemDoodle Web Components will be released next week and here is a quick screenshot from IE:
http://www.ichemlabs.com/content/chemdoodle-web-components-now-work-internet-explorer
Lastly, Canvas technology is generating a lot of interest for scientific, web-based applications. And with WebGL recently unveiled ( http://blog.wolfire.com/2009/09/preview-of-webkits-webgl-canvas3d/ ) for allowing Canvas to utilize OpenGL ES, it seems that the the entire field of scientific software may be drastically changed. For those interested in developing Canvas applications in the sciences, please read the following article posted on MacResearch:
http://www.macresearch.org/chemdoodle-web-components
Sincerely,
Kevin
Posted on October 2, 2009
Kevin Theisen
ChemDoodle Web Components have seen some major updates in the last couple months, including the addition of WebGL content to render 3D molecules on the web. For more information, please read this article on MacResearch:
http://www.macresearch.org/3d-chemdoodle-web-components
As of our last tests, 2D ChemDoodle Web Components work in Safari, Firefox and Chrome. They work in Internet Explorer with the use of Google Chrome Frame.
Posted on February 8, 2010
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