BIRCH: ACEDB organizes software documentation

Readers of this group may be interested in knowing that the
BIRCH bioinformatics platform employs ACEDB as the 
database manager for all software documentation files,
giving the user a one-stop view of all documentation for
all programs.  
The Python program htmldoc.py automatically creates
web pages from the birchdb database. Web pages organize
programs by Category, Package, and also a Program Index.
A tutorial with screenshots showing how local documentation
is merged with core BIRCH documentation is found at

http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~psgendb/birchadmin/addprog/localdocs.html

Below is a more general description of the most recent
release of BIRCH

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The word 'system' implies many parts working together in a coordinated fashion.
While installing programs and databases can be a major effort, transforming them 
from a mere collection into an integrated system is far more difficult.

The BIRCH system (http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~psgendb) makes it easy to find and use
almost any program, data or document. The core distribution includes software for DNA,
protein, and molecular marker data.

For end users:

    * The GDE graphic interface [Smith et al., 1994] makes it easy to create ad
      hoc data pipelines using output from one program as input for another.
    * Locally-installed programs and databases can be added transparently,