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NOTE: Our recent upgrade to the Apache 1.3 server software caused a problem with the Batch Client for the
Macintosh. Please download a new copy of the Mac Batch Client if you are receiving a "Document Not Dated"
message.
The Search Launcher Batch Client (SLBC) will read-in multiple input files, perform a specified search (e.g., BLAST, BEAUTY) on each sequence (one at a time), then store the result files on the user's system as individual HTML documents. The search results can then be viewed using Netscape, Mosaic, Lynx or another HTML viewer.
The search results will be the same as if the search was performed from our Search Launcher WWW Pages (http://www.hgsc.bcm.tmc.edu/SearchLauncher/) except the batch client will 1) automatically read multiple sequences from one or more files (no need to paste the sequences one at a time), 2) run the searches in the background (so that one can log-off if running on a public terminal), and 3) store the result files directly in a user's Mac or Unix directory (no need to do individual saves).
The advantages of this system compared to Email server interfaces, such as mailfasta and msu (see http://www.expasy.ch/info/serv_ema.txt) are 1) search results are returned as HTML documents with embedded hypertext links to additional information resources, rather than as simple text files, 2) search results are deposited directly into one's directory and do not have to be individually sorted and saved out of one's Email system, and 3) the list of available search and analysis methods (BLAST, BEAUTY, CLUSTAL-W, GRAIL, etc) is always current since it is automatically obtained from the BCM Server each time the batch client is run.
Version 2.5 of the Batch Client supports two new types of input formats: lists of sequence IDs and files submitted search results.
The list of available search and analysis methods for these new types of input formats is also obtained from the BCM server each time the batch client is run. So addition services which require these types of input can be added in the future, without requiring new versions of the Batch Client to be released.
The batch client consists of a single perl script. This script will run on both Unix systems, Macs, and PCs (NT and Win95). A direct network connection to the Internet is required. Unix systems require perl (ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/) to be pre-installed. Macs require perl (http://www.perl.com) and AppleScript (included in MacOS 7.5) and MacTCP. PCs require perl (http://www.ActiveState.com/pw32 and the NT or Win95 OS.
The software is available via anonymous ftp at ftp://dot.bcm.tmc.edu/pub/software/search-launcher. The Mac version does not download properly using Netscape to click on that link. Instead, ftp using Fetch or another (more generic) ftp program to dot.bcm.tmc.edu in the pub/software/search-launcher directory with the username anonymous and the password your email address.
Questions or Comments; 713-798-8292; FAX: 713-798-5741
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