ESBTL: efficient PDB parser and data structure for the structural and geometric analysis of biological macromolecules

Abstract

Summary: The ever increasing number of structural biological data calls for robust and efficient software for analysis. Easy Structural Biology Template Library (ESBTL) is a lightweight C++ library that allows the handling of PDB data and provides a data structure suitable for geometric constructions and analyses. The parser and data model provided by this ready-to-use include-only library allows adequate treatment of usually discarded information (insertion code, atom occupancy, etc.) while still being able to detect badly formatted files. The template-based structure allows rapid design of new computational structural biology applications and is fully compatible with the new remediated PDB archive format. It also allows the code to be easy-to-use while being versatile enough to allow advanced user developments. Availability: ESBTL is freely available under the GNU General Public License from http://esbtl.sf.net. The web site provides the source code, examples, code snippets and documentation. Contact:julie.bernauer@inria.fr