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Re: [IMP-dev] Atom::create



On 08/07/2009 12:43 PM, Daniel Russel wrote:
Cool, so then option 2 can be:
Use Charmm atom types as AtomType
- pdb reader/writer translates to and from them using the topology file
- they are unique and so can be used to index things

Note, however, my earlier point, so there is no room for confusion: multiple atoms in a given residue can have the same atom type (e.g. all the hydrogens may have the same type). The atom type does not suffice to uniquely define the atom name - that's why you need a separate atom name. And this would certainly need to be user-settable if the user wants to make any novel molecules that don't currently exist in the topology file/ligand database.

The important distinction here is that atom names are just a construct to make humans' lives easier, while atom types are what the universe cares about.

	Ben
--
                      http://salilab.org/~ben/
"It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data."
	- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle