PDBj web technology

Introduction

The PDBj web interface has been designed to find the perfect balance between usability, performance and efficiency. With these goals in mind, the interface has been split up into two components:

• The server-side REST interface
• The client side interface

REST interface

The PDBj REST interface provides a REST interface to many services and data provided by PDBj. Data from most REST functions returned in JSON format, but some services also return in other formats. Users can use these rest services with their own scripts and such as dictated by PDBj's terms and conditions.

Client side interface

The client side interface is written in JavaScript and runs on the client (i.e. within the user's browser). By having the logic for the visual interface as close to the user as possible, maximum responsiveness can be attained. Furtheremore, it opens up several new avenues for interaction with the user. The client side interface connects to the server side REST interface to fetch results for search queries and such and generates the interface within the user's browser. The interface allows many items to be customized to make it fit the user's preferences.

Integration

By letting the client side take care of the visualization, while letting the server take care of the data and related processing, a balance has been achieved between features, performance (both for users as well as PDBj's servers') and responsiveness.