RT Journal
A1 Stabenau, Arne
A1 McVicker, Graham
A1 Melsopp, Craig
A1 Proctor, Glenn
A1 Clamp, Michele
A1 Birney, Ewan
T1 The Ensembl Core Software Libraries
JF Genome Research 
JO Genome Research 
YR 2004 
FD May 01 
VO 14 
IS 5 
SP 929 
OP 933 
DO 10.1101/gr.1857204 
UL http://genome.cshlp.org/content/14/5/929.abstract 
AB Systems for managing genomic data must store a vast quantity of information. Ensembl stores these data in several MySQL databases. The core software libraries provide a practical and effective means for programmers to access these data. By encapsulating the underlying database structure, the libraries present end users with a simple, abstract interface to a complex data model. Programs that use the libraries rather than SQL to access the data are unaffected by most schema changes. The architecture of the core software libraries, the schema, and the factors influencing their design are described. All code and data are freely available.