Publication in
Bioinformatics, Oxford Journals:
Abstract
PDF
Description
BioDownloader is a
program for downloading and/or updating files from ftp/http servers. The program
has unique features that are specifically designed to deal with bioinformatics
data files and servers:
- optimized to work with vast amount of data and very large file sets (~ 10,000 - 100,000).
- allows the selective retrieval of only the required files (file masks, ls-lR parsing, recursive search, updates)
- has a built-in repository containing the settings for the most common bioinformatics download needs
- built-in wizard for batch post-processing of downloaded files (archive extraction, file conversion, etc.)
- capable of performing multiple download or update tasks simultaneously
BioDownloader was designed to have a very intuitive and user-friendly graphical interface, allowing the user who lacks network-specific knowledge to learn the application step-by-step starting with the basic mode. Besides the intuitive BioDownloader's features that allow the user to use it out-of-the-box, BioDownloader provides the experienced user a vast set of fine-tunning options and advanced features.
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For the user convenience BioDownloader has a
built-in task Repository to download and update the most commonly used
bioinformatics databases in just several mouse clicks.
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BioDownloader has a built-in tool for rapid
post-download file conversion and processing.
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In addition, all download tasks, task lists, post-download
processing/conversion activities can be saved, re-opened, modified, and shared
with other users by writing such information into xml-formatted files associated
with BioDownloader (*.task, *.list, *.convert).
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Operating system Compatibility
- Microsoft Windows® 98 / ME / 2000 / XP / 2003 / Vista
- Mac OS with an installed Windows® virtual machine
BioDownloader is based on a platform-independent .NET technology. Currently, BioDownloader can be run on Microsoft Windows® family operating systems or Mac OS using Windows® virtual machine software. BioDownloader does not yet run properly on UNIX-based operating systems using the Mono project implementation of C#. The Mono project is under continuous development, so that BioDownloader should eventually be available for UNIX and Linux systems.
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Publication
Maxim V. Shapovalov; Adrian A. Canutescu; Roland L. Dunbrack Jr.
BioDownloader: Bioinformatics downloads and updates in a few clicks.
Bioinformatics 2007; doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btm120
Abstract
PDF
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Contact
For comments, suggestions and bug reports contact the authors:
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webdesign: Maxim V. Shapovalov and Adrian A. Canutescu
