src/content/community/articles/instantjchem.html - netbeans-website-cleanup - Git at Google

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   <title>Instant JChem - An IDE for Scientists, Built on NetBeans</title>
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 <h1>Instant JChem - An Integrated Environment for Scientists, Built on NetBeans</h1>
   <span style="font-style: italic;">August 2007</span><br>
 <br>
 <br>
 When <a href="http://www.chemaxon.com/">Chemaxon</a>, a Budapest-based
 chemical software development firm, set out to create <a
  href="http://www.chemaxon.com/product/ijc.html">Instant JChem</a>, an
 out-of-box application that would let scientists work easily with
 chemical structures, the NetBeans Platform was an undisputed choice for
 the development team of Tim Dudgeon and Petr Hamernik.<br>
 <br>
 "We used NetBeans because it is an extensible modular application built
 on Java," Dudgeon said in a recent interview. "The window management
 side of things: the way you can put together parts of the application
 and get all the benefits of the windowing system; the APIs and building
 wizards with themthese were all very important to us."<br>
 <br>
 While selecting a tool that addressed and satisfied many of the
 project's parameters was a given, there was also past
 experience to consider.<br>
 <br>
 Dudgeon, a scientist and developer, and the founder of <a
  href="http://www.informaticsmatters.com/">Informatics Matters</a>, a
 software solutions and consultancy firm, has used the NetBeans Platform
 for previous projects for other companies. Hamernik was one of the
 original creators of NetBeans, and has also worked with Dudgeon on
 custom applications built on NetBeans.<br>
 <br>
 In defense of what might appear to be a development tool bias,
 Hamernik, who is now an independent developer, pointed out that the
 team's choice was not based solely on personal preference but on which
 platform had the easiest framework to work with.<br>
 <br>
 "Eclipse has its own native widgets, UI and visual components, which
 were difficult to manipulate," Hamernik asserted. "NetBeans is
 Java-based and has a straight-forward framework that&nbsp; was very
 helpful in creating a Swing-heavy application like Instant JChem."<br>
 <br>
 <div style="text-align: center;"><a
  href="../../images_www/articles/instantjchem/instantjchem1.png"><img
  alt="Instant JChem Schema Editor"
  src="../../images_www/articles/instantjchem/instantjchem1.png"
  style="border: 0px solid ; width: 453px; height: 403px;" align="middle"
  hspace="5" vspace="5"></a> <a
  href="../../images_www/articles/instantjchem/instantjchem2.png"><img
  alt="Instant JChem Form View"
  src="../../images_www/articles/instantjchem/instantjchem2.png"
  style="border: 0px solid ; width: 453px; height: 403px;" align="middle"
  hspace="5" vspace="5"></a><br>
 </div>
 <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(Click
 on images for larger view.)</span><br>
 </div>
 <br>
 Instant JChem belongs to a class of chemistry applications that
 function much like IDEs for those working in the pharmaceutical and
 bio-tech industries. But instead of code, these applications handle
 chemical and biological data.<br>
 <br>
 A desktop software that houses the functionality of other Chemaxon
 tools, Instant JChem allows chemists and biologists to create, manage
 and analyze hundreds of thousands of chemical structures in a
 database-conducive environment. It is also a platform on which other
 chemistry applications can be built.<br>
 <br>
 "Representing scientific data as searchable data is quite complex and
 different than when dealing with numeric data," Dudgeon explained. "One
 problem with some of the powerful tools out there is that you need to
 have some background to use them, and tools that are simpler to work
 with lack power. [Scientists] want a powerful yet easy-to-use
 application that lets them sketch structures and run queries
 efficiently while insulating them from the complexities of how."<br>
 <br>
 With Instant JChem, users can easily create, connect and share local
 databases, and also connect to external ones. Structure files can be
 imported, exported and merged, their data tabulated, sorted and
 queried. There is support for 2D and 3D structure display, and
 relational data. Users can build or apply their own chemical business
 rules; the tool also allows for third-party functionality to be
 integrated.<br>
 <br>
 In the past, drug research and life science companies often built their
 own database tools or hired firms like Chemaxon to build them, while
 the average scientist had to pay thousands of dollars for such software
 on the market. Instant JChem offers a solution for both groups, a
 ready-made application that's easy to install and that runs out of the
 box. The database tool is free for individual and academic use;
 however, accessing external database engines requires a license key
 that can be purchased from Chemaxon. Chemistry plugins are also
 available.<br>
 <br>
 Hamernik and Dudgeon said they worked with the NetBeans Platform 5.5
 and later, milestones of 6.0 with minimal problems. They even used what
 Dudgeon termed a "NetBeans approach" by rolling out milestone releases
 of Instant JChem. The response to Instant JChem at user group meetings,
 from scientists, and other companies, they said, have been positive.
 The team plans to release Instant JChem 2.0 in late August 2007. The
 release will include improvements to relational data support,
 multi-user access and a form design similar to NetBeans's GUI builder.
 There has also been a major rewrite of the architecture.<br>
 <br>
 Chemaxon's marketing director Allan Allardyce expressed excitement
 about the upcoming release.<br>
 <br>
 "Instant JChem could move the field of cheminformatics," he said.
 (Cheminformatics deals with the representation and use of chemical
 structures and related information on computer.)&nbsp; "It's a very
 cool and modern-looking tool with search capabilities to draw and
 perceive chemical structures at the very highest level. It's great for
 someone who doesn't want to spend money on software to explore chemical
 information. Yet, it is also a state-of-the-art application for the
 biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry."<br>
 <br>
 <span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br>
 <a
  href="http://www.chemaxon.com/anim/ijc/quick-start-tour/quick-start-tour.html">Watch
 a
 Screencast of Instant JChem</a><br>
 <br>
 <a href="http://www.chemaxon.com/anim/ijc.html">Additional Demos:
 Working with Instant JChem</a><br>
 <br>
 </body>
 </html>
	<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
	<html>
	<head>
	<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../netbeans.css" media="screen">
	<meta name="author" content="Tinuola Awopetu">
	<meta name="keywords" content="NetBeans, IDE, NetBeans Platform, Instant JChem">
	<title>Instant JChem - An IDE for Scientists, Built on NetBeans</title>
	</head>

	<body>
	<h1>Instant JChem - An Integrated Environment for Scientists, Built on NetBeans</h1>
	<span style="font-style: italic;">August 2007</span><br>
	<br>
	<br>
	When <a href="http://www.chemaxon.com/">Chemaxon</a>, a Budapest-based
	chemical software development firm, set out to create <a
	href="http://www.chemaxon.com/product/ijc.html">Instant JChem</a>, an
	out-of-box application that would let scientists work easily with
	chemical structures, the NetBeans Platform was an undisputed choice for
	the development team of Tim Dudgeon and Petr Hamernik.<br>
	<br>
	"We used NetBeans because it is an extensible modular application built
	on Java," Dudgeon said in a recent interview. "The window management
	side of things: the way you can put together parts of the application
	and get all the benefits of the windowing system; the APIs and building
	wizards with themthese were all very important to us."<br>
	<br>
	While selecting a tool that addressed and satisfied many of the
	project's parameters was a given, there was also past
	experience to consider.<br>
	<br>
	Dudgeon, a scientist and developer, and the founder of <a
	href="http://www.informaticsmatters.com/">Informatics Matters</a>, a
	software solutions and consultancy firm, has used the NetBeans Platform
	for previous projects for other companies. Hamernik was one of the
	original creators of NetBeans, and has also worked with Dudgeon on
	custom applications built on NetBeans.<br>
	<br>
	In defense of what might appear to be a development tool bias,
	Hamernik, who is now an independent developer, pointed out that the
	team's choice was not based solely on personal preference but on which
	platform had the easiest framework to work with.<br>
	<br>
	"Eclipse has its own native widgets, UI and visual components, which
	were difficult to manipulate," Hamernik asserted. "NetBeans is
	Java-based and has a straight-forward framework that  was very
	helpful in creating a Swing-heavy application like Instant JChem."<br>
	<br>
	<div style="text-align: center;"><a
	href="../../images_www/articles/instantjchem/instantjchem1.png"><img
	alt="Instant JChem Schema Editor"
	src="../../images_www/articles/instantjchem/instantjchem1.png"
	style="border: 0px solid ; width: 453px; height: 403px;" align="middle"
	hspace="5" vspace="5"></a> <a
	href="../../images_www/articles/instantjchem/instantjchem2.png"><img
	alt="Instant JChem Form View"
	src="../../images_www/articles/instantjchem/instantjchem2.png"
	style="border: 0px solid ; width: 453px; height: 403px;" align="middle"
	hspace="5" vspace="5"></a><br>
	</div>
	<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(Click
	on images for larger view.)</span><br>
	</div>
	<br>
	Instant JChem belongs to a class of chemistry applications that
	function much like IDEs for those working in the pharmaceutical and
	bio-tech industries. But instead of code, these applications handle
	chemical and biological data.<br>
	<br>
	A desktop software that houses the functionality of other Chemaxon
	tools, Instant JChem allows chemists and biologists to create, manage
	and analyze hundreds of thousands of chemical structures in a
	database-conducive environment. It is also a platform on which other
	chemistry applications can be built.<br>
	<br>
	"Representing scientific data as searchable data is quite complex and
	different than when dealing with numeric data," Dudgeon explained. "One
	problem with some of the powerful tools out there is that you need to
	have some background to use them, and tools that are simpler to work
	with lack power. [Scientists] want a powerful yet easy-to-use
	application that lets them sketch structures and run queries
	efficiently while insulating them from the complexities of how."<br>
	<br>
	With Instant JChem, users can easily create, connect and share local
	databases, and also connect to external ones. Structure files can be
	imported, exported and merged, their data tabulated, sorted and
	queried. There is support for 2D and 3D structure display, and
	relational data. Users can build or apply their own chemical business
	rules; the tool also allows for third-party functionality to be
	integrated.<br>
	<br>
	In the past, drug research and life science companies often built their
	own database tools or hired firms like Chemaxon to build them, while
	the average scientist had to pay thousands of dollars for such software
	on the market. Instant JChem offers a solution for both groups, a
	ready-made application that's easy to install and that runs out of the
	box. The database tool is free for individual and academic use;
	however, accessing external database engines requires a license key
	that can be purchased from Chemaxon. Chemistry plugins are also
	available.<br>
	<br>
	Hamernik and Dudgeon said they worked with the NetBeans Platform 5.5
	and later, milestones of 6.0 with minimal problems. They even used what
	Dudgeon termed a "NetBeans approach" by rolling out milestone releases
	of Instant JChem. The response to Instant JChem at user group meetings,
	from scientists, and other companies, they said, have been positive.
	The team plans to release Instant JChem 2.0 in late August 2007. The
	release will include improvements to relational data support,
	multi-user access and a form design similar to NetBeans's GUI builder.
	There has also been a major rewrite of the architecture.<br>
	<br>
	Chemaxon's marketing director Allan Allardyce expressed excitement
	about the upcoming release.<br>
	<br>
	"Instant JChem could move the field of cheminformatics," he said.
	(Cheminformatics deals with the representation and use of chemical
	structures and related information on computer.)  "It's a very
	cool and modern-looking tool with search capabilities to draw and
	perceive chemical structures at the very highest level. It's great for
	someone who doesn't want to spend money on software to explore chemical
	information. Yet, it is also a state-of-the-art application for the
	biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry."<br>
	<br>
	<span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br>
	<a
	href="http://www.chemaxon.com/anim/ijc/quick-start-tour/quick-start-tour.html">Watch
	a
	Screencast of Instant JChem</a><br>
	<br>
	<a href="http://www.chemaxon.com/anim/ijc.html">Additional Demos:
	Working with Instant JChem</a><br>
	<br>
	</body>
	</html>