Dialog structure searching system

Figure 1. Block diagram of the Dialog Structure Searching System...

Structure searching and display software are host-specific. The Softon Substructure Search System (S4) was developed by the Beilstein Institute and Softon of Graefelfing Germany (50). It is a full structure and substructure searching module. The S4 is used in-house by the Beilstein Institute and is operated by DIALOG. STN uses CAS ONLINE s messenger software for on-line structure searching of the Beilstein on-line database (51). 

Four chapters on other operational substructure search systems follow. Jean Marcah and co-workers describe the Du Pont global technical information system Steve Welford and Clemens Jochum report on chemical structure registration for Beilstein Online Peter Rusch also covers Beilstein Onhne in a paper about substructure searching on Dialog and the DARC Toolkit which was described by Pascal Huguet is summarised in a chapter written by Bill Town with some suggestions from myself and Pierre Buffet of Questel. 

The systems analysis showed that it was important for Dialog to adopt a fully integrated subsystem that would effectively perform structure and substructure searches. Such a subsystem would permit the Dialog program to remain in control of all the communications functions to the user s terminal, but would use searching techniques that were different from those of Dialog and more appropriately suited to the handling of structure information. 

A number of systems now offer graphics-based substructure search capabilities for online access to a variety of chemical structure data bases. From December 1988 the first subset of the Beilstein Online data bank (organic heterocyclic compounds reported in the literature prior to 1960) goes online on STN International. Other hosts, which at present offer only name-based structure and substructure search capabilities are also likely to provide online access to the Beilstein files in the near future these include Dialog, Pergamon Orbit Infoline and Datastar. 

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