MDMovie: A molecular dynamics viewing tool

Abstract

The graphics program MDMovie (Molecular Dynamics Movie), written in C using IRIS GL graphics library calls, is designed to facilitate the visualization and interpretation of empirical force field data. MDMovie was created and initially adapted in accord with the needs of physical chemists and thereafter became an expandable analysis tool. Capabilities include the display of chemical structure, animation of molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo trajectories, and the visual representation of various vector and scalar dynamical properties. In addition to being a research tool, MDMovie has features for creating presentation videos and hardcopy output. A library is also available for linking to Fortran simulation codes running on a remote machine and connecting to MDMovie via a socket connection. MDMovie continues to be an ongoing research project and new features are actively being added in collaboration with various research groups. Future plans include porting to OpenGL and the design of an X11-based user interface.