JmolJSmol

JmolJSmol refers to the integration of Jmol, a Java viewer for three-dimensional chemical structures, with JavaScript, enabling the display of interactive molecular models directly within web browsers without requiring a Java plugin. This combination allows for broader accessibility and easier embedding of 3D molecular visualizations on websites.

Jmol itself is an open-source software project developed by the Jmol team, primarily used in education and research for displaying chemical structures, proteins, minerals, and materials. It supports a wide range of file formats commonly used in chemistry and biology, such as PDB, SDF, MOL, and CIF. Jmol offers extensive functionalities for manipulating and analyzing these structures, including rotation, zooming, measuring distances, and displaying various molecular representations like ball-and-stick, space-filling, and cartoon models.

The "JSmol" aspect signifies the deployment of Jmol's rendering capabilities through JavaScript. This is achieved by leveraging the HTML5 Canvas element or WebGL, which are standard web technologies. This approach bypasses the need for users to install the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) on their computers, as was required for the original Jmol applet. Consequently, JSmol enhances compatibility across different operating systems and devices, making molecular visualization more seamless for a wider audience on the internet. Developers can embed JSmol into web pages using simple HTML and JavaScript code, providing interactive molecular models for educational content, scientific publications, and data repositories.