MacDNA
February 1988  Robert F. Schleif
("macdna.readme" added 7/20/89 by Spencer Yeh for BIONET 
distribution)


INTRODUCTION

This is a program written by Robert Schleif, Brandeis University, Dept. 
of Biochemistry.  It is a compiled program, compiled from a source code 
written in C with the Lightspeed compiler, with the assistance of Evan 
Kantrowitz, Boston College.  It has been only minimally altered from the 
IBM-PC version for which it was originally written.  Thus, it lacks many 
of the features to which Mac users have gotten accustomed; i.e., no 
mouse, no desktop support, no dialog boxes for file IO.  It is however, 
a fast and compact program, that is highly useful for straightforward 
tasks.  The program has a consensus search module that is simple yet 
very powerful.  The program is an entirely self-contained double-
clickable application.  The present version (2/88) is compatible with 
Multifinder, & has a number of small enhancements relative to the 
original version.

In general, the program is entirely self-explanatory.  The access to 
files, however, is not Mac-like.  If no volume name is specified, the 
program will look for files or send file output to the folder in which 
MacDNA is located.  The volume name of an external drive can be 
specified (Format is  Diskname:filename), but folders in that drive 
can't be accessed.  

The file NEB has been included, which contains a listing of the 
restriction enzymes and sites in the New England Biolabs catalog.

The program will not direct output directly to a printer.  It is easy, 
however, to direct output into a textfile that can be printed from 
another application.


CONTACT ADDRESS

Robert F. Schleif
Dept. of Biochemistry
Brandeis University
Waltham, MA  02254


SYSTEMS SUPPORTED

Mac Plus, SE, and Macintosh II. 


AVAILABILITY

This program is available by anonymous FTP from BIONET (net.bio.net) in 
the directory ~ftp/public/mac/macdna or, for BIONET subscribers only, 
by postal mail from the BIONET Lending Library.  If you are a BIONET 
subscriber and would like to receive the MacDNA diskette by mail, 
please send a stamped, self-addressed return envelope along with a 
formatted diskette (specify capacity) and your request to:

	BIONET Administrator
	BIONET/ IntelliGenetics, Inc.
	700 East El Camino Real, Suite 300
	Mountain View, CA  94040

	tel.:  (415) 962-7337


SOURCE CODE

Source code is not supplied.


PROGRAM FILES before un-STUFFing:

macdna.readme            This documentation file.
macdna.hqx               Stuffed and Binhexed archive file.


PROGRAM FILES after un-STUFFing:

MacDNA.msg               Short note about MacDNA
MacDNA                   Application.
NEB                      NEB restriction enzyme list.



DOCUMENTATION

MacDNA is largely self-explanatory.  The interface is tty oriented and a 
bit awkward, especially in the editor function.


DEARCHIVING THE PROGRAM

".hqx" files must be first un-BinHexed.  To do this, use the "Other"
menu within the StuffIt program to choose the "Decode BinHex File..."
option or use the BinHex program's "File" menu to choose the "Download
-> Application" option.

A StuffIt ".sit" archive file can usually be opened simply by
double-clicking on the document's icon.  If this doesn't work, open up
the archive file from within the StuffIt application by using the "Open
Archive..." command in the "File" menu.


STARTING THE PROGRAM

Double-click the application file.


KNOWN PROBLEMS

When editing a weighted site table, the numerical weights MUST be 
separated by a space, and the last weight MUST be followed by a space 
BEFORE the CR.