Introduction
To work efficiently and reliably with the large amount and complexity of data that typically need to be analyzed in (structural) bioinformatics, automation of workflows is a must. In some cases it is possible to find existing software packages to achieve your goal. However, often no suitable package is available for your specific tasks and development of your own piece of software is needed.
Fortunately these days you can find programming platforms with a simple syntax and which require minimal knowledge about computer technology. Python is a programming language that is perfectly suitable for scientific programming: It is simple to learn, but powerful enough even for complicated tasks.
Workshop outline
The 4-day workshop will get you started with python programming and results in a fully functional script for a real life application in NMR: The conversion from CYANA distance restraints to XPLOR distance restraints (see attached README).
It consists of lectures that introduce you to basic python programming concepts, such as
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preparation of the programming environment
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where to search for information
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an introduction to Python basics, with topics like text manipulation, file handling etcetera (see attached program).
which are directly applied to build the CYANA to XPLOR conversion script.
Learning to program requires a lot of practice, and there is no better way to learn it than using building your application of choice. During day 3 and 4 you will practice your knowledge on an application of your own choice, guided by us so you will go home with an application that is going to speed up your daily work.