Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!uunet!snorkelwacker!bionet!kristoff
From: kristoff@genbank.bio.net (David Kristofferson)
Newsgroups: bionet.molbio.genome-program
Subject: Re: feature table parsers - what's it all mean?
Message-ID: <Oct.2.16.57.46.1990.8801@genbank.bio.net>
Date: 2 Oct 90 23:57:47 GMT
References: <4725@lure.latrobe.edu.au>
Organization: GenBank Online Service
Lines: 21

In a nutshell, the GenBank features table is a list of "features" such
as coding regions that are found in the accompanying sequence data.  A
parser is a computer program that attempts to decipher this
information and transform it for use in computations.  A simple
example might be as follows.  If the features table lists a coding
region from base x to base y, a parser would automatically read this
information and pass it to a translation program which would translate
the sequence between these bases.  Without a parser, a human would
have to read the features table and input the starting and ending base
into the translation program.

Hope this clarifies things.

 
-- 
				Sincerely,

				Dave Kristofferson
				GenBank Manager

				kristoff@genbank.bio.net