Provided by: libbio-perl-perl_1.7.8-1_all 
NAME
Bio::AlignIO - Handler for AlignIO Formats
SYNOPSIS
use Bio::AlignIO;
$inputfilename = "testaln.fasta";
$in = Bio::AlignIO->new(-file => $inputfilename ,
-format => 'fasta');
$out = Bio::AlignIO->new(-file => ">out.aln.pfam" ,
-format => 'pfam');
while ( my $aln = $in->next_aln() ) {
$out->write_aln($aln);
}
# OR
use Bio::AlignIO;
open MYIN, '<', 'testaln.fasta' or die "Could not read file 'testaln.fasta': $!\n";
$in = Bio::AlignIO->newFh(-fh => \*MYIN,
-format => 'fasta');
open my $MYOUT, '>', 'testaln.pfam' or die "Could not write file 'testaln.pfam': $!\n";
$out = Bio::AlignIO->newFh(-fh => $MYOUT,
-format => 'pfam');
# World's smallest Fasta<->pfam format converter:
print $out $_ while <$in>;
DESCRIPTION
Bio::AlignIO is a handler module for the formats in the AlignIO set, for example,
Bio::AlignIO::fasta. It is the officially sanctioned way of getting at the alignment
objects. The resulting alignment is a Bio::Align::AlignI-compliant object.
The idea is that you request an object for a particular format. All the objects have a
notion of an internal file that is read from or written to. A particular AlignIO object
instance is configured for either input or output, you can think of it as a stream object.
Each object has functions:
$stream->next_aln();
And:
$stream->write_aln($aln);
Also:
$stream->type() # returns 'INPUT' or 'OUTPUT'
As an added bonus, you can recover a filehandle that is tied to the AlignIO object,
allowing you to use the standard <> and print operations to read and write alignment
objects:
use Bio::AlignIO;
# read from standard input
$stream = Bio::AlignIO->newFh(-format => 'Fasta');
while ( $aln = <$stream> ) {
# do something with $aln
}
And:
print $stream $aln; # when stream is in output mode
Bio::AlignIO is patterned on the Bio::SeqIO module and shares most of its features. One
significant difference is that Bio::AlignIO usually handles IO for only a single alignment
at a time, whereas Bio::SeqIO handles IO for multiple sequences in a single stream. The
principal reason for this is that whereas simultaneously handling multiple sequences is a
common requirement, simultaneous handling of multiple alignments is not. The only current
exception is format "bl2seq" which parses results of the BLAST "bl2seq" program and which
may produce several alignment pairs. This set of alignment pairs can be read using
multiple calls to next_aln.
CONSTRUCTORS
Bio::AlignIO->new()
$seqIO = Bio::AlignIO->new(-file => 'filename', -format=>$format);
$seqIO = Bio::AlignIO->new(-fh => \*FILEHANDLE, -format=>$format);
$seqIO = Bio::AlignIO->new(-format => $format);
$seqIO = Bio::AlignIO->new(-fh => \*STDOUT, -format => $format);
The new class method constructs a new Bio::AlignIO object. The returned object can be
used to retrieve or print alignment objects. new accepts the following parameters:
-file
A file path to be opened for reading or writing. The usual Perl conventions apply:
'file' # open file for reading
'>file' # open file for writing
'>>file' # open file for appending
'+<file' # open file read/write
'command |' # open a pipe from the command
'| command' # open a pipe to the command
-fh You may provide new() with a previously-opened filehandle. For example, to read from
STDIN:
$seqIO = Bio::AlignIO->new(-fh => \*STDIN);
Note that you must pass filehandles as references to globs.
If neither a filehandle nor a filename is specified, then the module will read from
the @ARGV array or STDIN, using the familiar <> semantics.
-format
Specify the format of the file. Supported formats include:
bl2seq Bl2seq Blast output
clustalw clustalw (.aln) format
emboss EMBOSS water and needle format
fasta FASTA format
maf Multiple Alignment Format
mase mase (seaview) format
mega MEGA format
meme MEME format
msf msf (GCG) format
nexus Swofford et al NEXUS format
pfam Pfam sequence alignment format
phylip Felsenstein PHYLIP format
prodom prodom (protein domain) format
psi PSI-BLAST format
selex selex (hmmer) format
stockholm stockholm format
Currently only those formats which were implemented in Bio::SimpleAlign have been
incorporated into Bio::AlignIO. Specifically, "mase", "stockholm" and "prodom" have
only been implemented for input. See the specific module (e.g. Bio::AlignIO::prodom)
for notes on supported versions.
If no format is specified and a filename is given, then the module will attempt to
deduce it from the filename suffix. If this is unsuccessful, "fasta" format is
assumed.
The format name is case insensitive; "FASTA", "Fasta" and "fasta" are all treated
equivalently.
Bio::AlignIO->newFh()
$fh = Bio::AlignIO->newFh(-fh => \*FILEHANDLE, -format=>$format);
# read from STDIN or use @ARGV:
$fh = Bio::AlignIO->newFh(-format => $format);
This constructor behaves like new, but returns a tied filehandle rather than a
Bio::AlignIO object. You can read sequences from this object using the familiar <>
operator, and write to it using print. The usual array and $_ semantics work. For
example, you can read all sequence objects into an array like this:
@sequences = <$fh>;
Other operations, such as read(), sysread(), write(), close(), and printf() are not
supported.
-flush
By default, all files (or filehandles) opened for writing alignments will be flushed
after each write_aln() making the file immediately usable. If you do not need this
facility and would like to marginally improve the efficiency of writing multiple
sequences to the same file (or filehandle), pass the -flush option '0' or any other value
that evaluates as defined but false:
my $clustal = Bio::AlignIO->new( -file => "<prot.aln",
-format => "clustalw" );
my $msf = Bio::AlignIO->new(-file => ">prot.msf",
-format => "msf",
-flush => 0 ); # go as fast as we can!
while($seq = $clustal->next_aln) { $msf->write_aln($seq) }
OBJECT METHODS
See below for more detailed summaries. The main methods are:
$alignment = $AlignIO->next_aln()
Fetch an alignment from a formatted file.
$AlignIO->write_aln($aln)
Write the specified alignment to a file..
TIEHANDLE(), READLINE(), PRINT()
These provide the tie interface. See perltie for more details.
FEEDBACK
Mailing Lists
User feedback is an integral part of the evolution of this and other Bioperl modules. Send
your comments and suggestions preferably to one of the Bioperl mailing lists. Your
participation is much appreciated.
bioperl-l@bioperl.org - General discussion
http://bioperl.org/wiki/Mailing_lists - About the mailing lists
Support
Please direct usage questions or support issues to the mailing list:
bioperl-l@bioperl.org
rather than to the module maintainer directly. Many experienced and reponsive experts will
be able look at the problem and quickly address it. Please include a thorough description
of the problem with code and data examples if at all possible.
Reporting Bugs
Report bugs to the Bioperl bug tracking system to help us keep track the bugs and their
resolution. Bug reports can be submitted via the web:
https://github.com/bioperl/bioperl-live/issues
AUTHOR - Peter Schattner
Email: schattner@alum.mit.edu
CONTRIBUTORS
Jason Stajich, jason@bioperl.org
APPENDIX
The rest of the documentation details each of the object methods. Internal methods are
usually preceded with a _
new
Title : new
Usage : $stream = Bio::AlignIO->new(-file => $filename,
-format => 'Format')
Function: Returns a new seqstream
Returns : A Bio::AlignIO::Handler initialised with
the appropriate format
Args : -file => $filename
-format => format
-fh => filehandle to attach to
-displayname_flat => 1 [optional]
to force the displayname to not show start/end
information
newFh
Title : newFh
Usage : $fh = Bio::AlignIO->newFh(-file=>$filename,-format=>'Format')
Function: does a new() followed by an fh()
Example : $fh = Bio::AlignIO->newFh(-file=>$filename,-format=>'Format')
$sequence = <$fh>; # read a sequence object
print $fh $sequence; # write a sequence object
Returns : filehandle tied to the Bio::AlignIO::Fh class
Args :
fh
Title : fh
Usage : $obj->fh
Function:
Example : $fh = $obj->fh; # make a tied filehandle
$sequence = <$fh>; # read a sequence object
print $fh $sequence; # write a sequence object
Returns : filehandle tied to the Bio::AlignIO::Fh class
Args :
format
Title : format
Usage : $format = $stream->format()
Function: Get the alignment format
Returns : alignment format
Args : none
_load_format_module
Title : _load_format_module
Usage : *INTERNAL AlignIO stuff*
Function: Loads up (like use) a module at run time on demand
Example :
Returns :
Args :
next_aln
Title : next_aln
Usage : $aln = stream->next_aln
Function: reads the next $aln object from the stream
Returns : a Bio::Align::AlignI compliant object
Args :
write_aln
Title : write_aln
Usage : $stream->write_aln($aln)
Function: writes the $aln object into the stream
Returns : 1 for success and 0 for error
Args : Bio::Seq object
_guess_format
Title : _guess_format
Usage : $obj->_guess_format($filename)
Function:
Example :
Returns : guessed format of filename (lower case)
Args :
force_displayname_flat
Title : force_displayname_flat
Usage : $obj->force_displayname_flat($newval)
Function:
Example :
Returns : value of force_displayname_flat (a scalar)
Args : on set, new value (a scalar or undef, optional)
alphabet
Title : alphabet
Usage : $obj->alphabet($newval)
Function: Get/Set alphabet for purpose of passing to Bio::LocatableSeq creation
Example : $obj->alphabet('dna');
Returns : value of alphabet (a scalar)
Args : on set, new value (a scalar or undef, optional)