whichdb |
EMBOSS does not allow database entries to be specified by just the ID name or accession number. You must specify both the name of the database and the entry, for example 'embl:hsfau', not just 'hsfau'.
If you do not know which database(s) contain the entry you are interested in, whichdb will tell you.
whichdb can also, optionally, write out the sequences it finds to files.
Why are there two such identifiers? The ID name was originally intended to be a human-readable name that had some indication of the function of its sequence. In EMBL and GenBank the first two (or three) letters indicated the species and the rest indicated the function, for example 'hsfau' is the 'Homo Sapiens FAU pseudogene'. This naming scheme started to be a problem when the number of entries added each day was so vast that people could not make up the ID names fast enough. Instead, the Accession numbers were used as the ID name. Therefore you will now find ID names like 'AF061303', the same as the Accession number for that sequence in EMBL.
ID names are not guaranteed to remain the same between different versions of a database (although in practice they usually do).
Accession numbers are unique alphanumeric identifiers that are guaranteed to remain with that sequence through the rest of the life of the database. If two sequences are merged into one, then the new sequence will get a new Accession number and the Accession numbers of the merged sequences will be retained as 'secondary' Accession numbers.
EMBL, GenBank and SwissProt share an Accession numbering scheme - an Accession number uniquely identifies a sequence within these three databases.
% whichdb -showall Search all databases for an entry ID or Accession number: hsfau1 Output file [outfile.whichdb]: |
Go to the output files for this example
Standard (Mandatory) qualifiers (* if not always prompted): [-entry] string ID or Accession number * -outfile outfile Output file name Additional (Optional) qualifiers: (none) Advanced (Unprompted) qualifiers: -get toggle Retrieve sequences -showall boolean Show failed attempts Associated qualifiers: "-outfile" associated qualifiers -odirectory string Output directory General qualifiers: -auto boolean Turn off prompts -stdout boolean Write standard output -filter boolean Read standard input, write standard output -options boolean Prompt for standard and additional values -debug boolean Write debug output to program.dbg -verbose boolean Report some/full command line options -help boolean Report command line options. More information on associated and general qualifiers can be found with -help -verbose -warning boolean Report warnings -error boolean Report errors -fatal boolean Report fatal errors -die boolean Report deaths |
Standard (Mandatory) qualifiers | Allowed values | Default | |
---|---|---|---|
[-entry] (Parameter 1) |
ID or Accession number | Any string is accepted | An empty string is accepted |
-outfile | Output file name | Output file | <sequence>.whichdb |
Additional (Optional) qualifiers | Allowed values | Default | |
(none) | |||
Advanced (Unprompted) qualifiers | Allowed values | Default | |
-get | Retrieve sequences | Toggle value Yes/No | No |
-showall | Show failed attempts | Boolean value Yes/No | No |
# Trying 'qangcgall:hsfau1' # Failed 'qangcgall:hsfau1' # Trying 'twp:hsfau1' # Failed 'twp:hsfau1' # Trying 'qapblast:hsfau1' # Failed 'qapblast:hsfau1' # Trying 'tsw:hsfau1' # Failed 'tsw:hsfau1' # Trying 'qapblastsplit:hsfau1' # Failed 'qapblastsplit:hsfau1' # Trying 'qangcginc:hsfau1' # Failed 'qangcginc:hsfau1' # Trying 'qangcgexc:hsfau1' # Failed 'qangcgexc:hsfau1' # Trying 'qasrsfasta:hsfau1' qasrsfasta:hsfau1 # Trying 'qapir:hsfau1' # Failed 'qapir:hsfau1' # Trying 'tgenbank:hsfau1' tgenbank:hsfau1 # Trying 'qanfasta:hsfau1' # Failed 'qanfasta:hsfau1' # Trying 'qanxflat:hsfau1' # Failed 'qanxflat:hsfau1' # Trying 'qanxgcg:hsfau1' # Failed 'qanxgcg:hsfau1' # Trying 'qapflat:hsfau1' # Failed 'qapflat:hsfau1' # Trying 'qapblastsplitinc:hsfau1' # Failed 'qapblastsplitinc:hsfau1' # Trying 'qapblastsplitexc:hsfau1' # Failed 'qapblastsplitexc:hsfau1' # Trying 'qapflatall:hsfau1' # Failed 'qapflatall:hsfau1' # Trying 'qanxflatall:hsfau1' qanxflatall:hsfau1 # Trying 'qapflatinc:hsfau1' # Failed 'qapflatinc:hsfau1' # Trying 'qapflatexc:hsfau1' # Failed 'qapflatexc:hsfau1' # Trying 'qasrs:hsfau1' qasrs:hsfau1 # Trying 'qapxflatinc:hsfau1' # Failed 'qapxflatinc:hsfau1' # Trying 'qapxflatexc:hsfau1' # Failed 'qapxflatexc:hsfau1' # Trying 'tpir:hsfau1' # Failed 'tpir:hsfau1' # Trying 'qasrswww:hsfau1' qasrswww:hsfau1 # Trying 'qanxfasta:hsfau1' # Failed 'qanxfasta:hsfau1' # Trying 'qanxgcgall:hsfau1' # Failed 'qanxgcgall:hsfau1' # Trying 'qangcg:hsfau1' # Failed 'qangcg:hsfau1' # Trying 'qanfastaall:hsfau1' # Failed 'qanfastaall:hsfau1' # Trying 'qapirall:hsfau1' # Failed 'qapirall:hsfau1' # Trying 'qanxgcginc:hsfau1' # Failed 'qanxgcginc:hsfau1' # Trying 'qanxgcgexc:hsfau1' # Failed 'qanxgcgexc:hsfau1' # Trying 'qapirinc:hsfau1' # Failed 'qapirinc:hsfau1' # Trying 'qanflat:hsfau1' # Failed 'qanflat:hsfau1' # Trying 'qanxfastaall:hsfau1' # Failed 'qanxfastaall:hsfau1' # Trying 'qapfasta:hsfau1' # Failed 'qapfasta:hsfau1' # Trying 'qawxfasta:hsfau1' # Failed 'qawxfasta:hsfau1' # Trying 'qapirexc:hsfau1' # Failed 'qapirexc:hsfau1' # Trying 'tswnew:hsfau1' # Failed 'tswnew:hsfau1' # Trying 'qaxpirall:hsfau1' # Failed 'qaxpirall:hsfau1' # Trying 'qapxflat:hsfau1' # Failed 'qapxflat:hsfau1' # Trying 'qaxpirinc:hsfau1' # Failed 'qaxpirinc:hsfau1' # Trying 'qapxfasta:hsfau1' # Failed 'qapxfasta:hsfau1' # Trying 'tembl:hsfau1' tembl:hsfau1 # Trying 'qaxpirexc:hsfau1' # Failed 'qaxpirexc:hsfau1' # Trying 'qapblastall:hsfau1' # Failed 'qapblastall:hsfau1' # Trying 'tgb:hsfau1' # Failed 'tgb:hsfau1' # Trying 'qaxpir:hsfau1' # Failed 'qaxpir:hsfau1' # Trying 'qawfasta:hsfau1' # Failed 'qawfasta:hsfau1' |
The reported database entries are written out to the specified output file.
Each database that is defined in the local implementation of EMBOSS which contains an entry called 'hsfau' is reported.
Note that where a database is defined under several names ('embl', 'em'), each definition of that database containing the entry is reported.
When the '-get' option is used to output the sequences, they are written to separate files. The sequence format they are written in is always 'Fasta' format. The normal command-line qualifiers for changing the output formats etc. will not work in this program.
The names of the files that the sequences are written to is reported as they are written, for example:
Writing hsfau.embl Writing hsfau.human Writing hsfau.tembl Writing hsfau.em Writing hsfau.genbank Writing hsfau.gb |
Program name | Description |
---|---|
infoalign | Information on a multiple sequence alignment |
infoseq | Displays some simple information about sequences |
seealso | Finds programs sharing group names |
showdb | Displays information on the currently available databases |
textsearch | Search sequence documentation. Slow, use SRS and Entrez! |
tfm | Displays a program's help documentation manual |
wossname | Finds programs by keywords in their one-line documentation |