Plant & Animal Genomes XI Conference Plant & Animal Genomes XI ConferenceJanuary 11-15, 2003
Town & Country Convention Center
San Diego, CA
Bioinformatics: Software
Computer: Poster and Demo
SVG has enabled a visually appealing, browser-based application for the visual comparison of Brassica napus and Arabidopsis thaliana. The client side of this browser is based on our custom GUI library (CGUI) which uses Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), a new web graphics standard, to provide windowing functionality inside the web browser. This windowing functionality, combined with asynchronous data retrieval and client side rendering overcomes two of the key drawbacks of current web based browsers: fixed displays and frequent page reloads. The end result is a more intuitive and enjoyable browsing experience. The browser currently displays our 40000-50000 Brassica napus ESTs aligned with the BACs of the Arabidopsis thaliana model organism as annotated by TIGR. The browser allows a user to search for a specific BAC, gene, or EST; to access the annotation associated with this element; to see the relationship between elements; and to search for other related elements. Future efforts will include the addition of new GUI elements, and an investigation into the use of XML-RPC or SOAP encoded messages for the client-server communication. CGUI has been used successfully for the BioViz project, and is being considered for use in several other visualization projects. An attempt to integrate the BioViz into other open source projects is under evaluation. People wishing to inquire about the browser should contact LewisCT@agr.gc.ca.