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International
Tables for Crystallography Volume G Definition and exchange of crystallographic data Edited by S. R. Hall and B. McMahon © International Union of Crystallography 2006 |
International Tables for Crystallography (2006). Vol. G. ch. 5.1, p. 486
Section 5.1.4. Conclusion
a
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Kramer Science Center, Dowling College, Idle Hour Blvd, Oakdale, NY 11769, USA |
Making CIF-aware applications is a demanding, but manageable, task. A software developer has the choice of using external filters, using existing libraries and APIs, or of building CIF infrastructure from scratch. The last choice presents an opportunity to tune the handling of CIFs to the needs of the application, but also presents the risk of creating code that does not conform to CIF specifications. One can never know for certain how a new application may be used in the future. If there is any doubt that an application built from scratch will conform to CIF specifications, prudence dictates that one should use filter programs or well tested libraries and APIs in preference to cutting corners in building an application from scratch.
