A new utility program called MSU (mail server utility) is available that
assists scientists in using electronic mail servers for sequence analysis,
such as BLITZ, BLAST, GRAIL, etc. It is written in standard C and runs on
various OpenVMS and UNIX platforms.
In contrast to existing similar tools, MSU takes its knowledge about the
request format a server expects from an external service description file.
There's no in-built, hard-wired knowledge. This approach makes MSU
extremely flexible and allows easy modification, extension and
customisation.
MSU is distributed with a default specification file that defines about
twenty email services. New services can be added easily as they come up.
When MSU starts up, it reads this file and creates a menu system which
guides the user through the process of producing a well-formed service
request. Additional options include the downloading of help files and the
registration with services that require it prior to use. Most popular
sequence formats are supported.
Copies can be obtained from ftp.embl-heidelberg.de
(/pub/software/unix/msu.tar.Z and /pub/software/vax/msu.uue) or by email
from netserv at embl-heidelberg.de ("get unix_software:msu.uue" or "get
vax_software:msu.uue").
--
Rainer Fuchs
EMBL Data Library
Fuchs at EMBL-Heidelberg.DE
