/ 
bioperl-1.0.2
/ Bio::Location::Fuzzy

NAME

Bio::Location::Fuzzy - Implementation of a Location on a Sequence which has unclear start and/or end locations

SYNOPSIS

    use Bio::Location::Fuzzy;
    my $fuzzylocation = new Bio::Location::Fuzzy(-start => '<30',
						 -end   => 90,
						 -location_type => '.');

    print "location string is ", $fuzzylocation->to_FTstring(), "\n";
    print "location is of the type ", $fuzzylocation->location_type, "\n";

DESCRIPTION

This module contains the necessary methods for representing a Fuzzy Location, one that does not have clear start and/or end points. This will initially serve to handle features from Genbank/EMBL feature tables that are written as 1^100 meaning between bases 1 and 100 or <100..300 meaning it starts somewhere before 100. Advanced implementations of this interface may be able to handle the necessary logic of overlaps/intersection/contains/union. It was constructed to handle fuzzy locations that can be represented in Genbank/EMBL.

FEEDBACK

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://bio.perl.org/MailList.html - About the mailing lists

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 email or the web:

bioperl-bugs@bio.perl.org
http://bio.perl.org/bioperl-bugs/

AUTHOR - Jason Stajich

Email jason@chg.mc.duke.edu

APPENDIX

The rest of the documentation details each of the object methods. Internal methods are usually preceded with a _

new

Title   : new
Usage   : my $fuzzyloc = new Bio::Location::Fuzzy( @args);
Function: Builds a location with ambiguous start/end range info
Returns : Bio::Location::Fuzzy object
Args    : -start    => value for start  (initialize by superclass)
          -end      => value for end    (initialize by superclass)
          -strand   => value for strand (initialize by superclass)
          -location_type => either ('EXACT', 'WITHIN', 'BETWEEN') OR
                              ( 1,2,3)
          -start_ext=> extension for start - defaults to 0, 
          -start_fuz=  fuzzy code for start can be 
                     ( 'EXACT', 'WITHIN', 'BETWEEN', 'BEFORE', 'AFTER') OR
                     a value 1 - 5 corresponding to index+1 above
          -end_ext=> extension for end - defaults to 0, 
          -end_fuz=  fuzzy code for end can be 
                     ( 'EXACT', 'WITHIN', 'BETWEEN', 'BEFORE', 'AFTER') OR
                     a value 1 - 5 corresponding to index+1 above

location_type

Title   : location_type
Usage   : my $location_type = $location->location_type();
Function: Get location type encoded as text
Returns : string ('EXACT', 'WITHIN', 'BETWEEN')
Args    : none

LocationI methods

length

Title   : length
Usage   : $length = $fuzzy_loc->length();
Function: Get the length of this location.

          Note that the length of a fuzzy location will always depend
          on the currently active interpretation of start and end. The
          result will therefore vary for different CoordinatePolicy objects.

Returns : an integer
Args    : none

start

Title   : start
Usage   : $start = $fuzzy->start();
Function: get/set start of this range, handling fuzzy_starts
Returns : a positive integer representing the start of the location
Args    : start location on set (can be fuzzy point string)

end

Title   : end
Usage   : $end = $fuzzy->end();
Function: get/set end of this range, handling fuzzy_ends
Returns : a positive integer representing the end of the range
Args    : end location on set (can be fuzzy string)

min_start

Title   : min_start
Usage   : $min_start = $fuzzy->min_start();
Function: get/set the minimum starting point
Returns : the minimum starting point from the contained sublocations
Args    : integer or undef on set

max_start

Title   : max_start
Usage   : my $maxstart = $location->max_start();
Function: Get/set maximum starting location of feature startpoint  
Returns : integer or undef if no maximum starting point.
Args    : integer or undef on set

start_pos_type

Title   : start_pos_type
Usage   : my $start_pos_type = $location->start_pos_type();
Function: Get/set start position type.
Returns : type of position coded as text 
          ('BEFORE', 'AFTER', 'EXACT','WITHIN', 'BETWEEN')
Args    : a string on set

min_end

Title   : min_end
Usage   : my $minend = $location->min_end();
Function: Get/set minimum ending location of feature endpoint 
Returns : integer or undef if no minimum ending point.
Args    : integer or undef on set

max_end

Title   : max_end
Usage   : my $maxend = $location->max_end();
Function: Get/set maximum ending location of feature endpoint 
Returns : integer or undef if no maximum ending point.
Args    : integer or undef on set

end_pos_type

Title   : end_pos_type
Usage   : my $end_pos_type = $location->end_pos_type();
Function: Get/set end position type.
Returns : type of position coded as text 
          ('BEFORE', 'AFTER', 'EXACT','WITHIN', 'BETWEEN')
Args    : a string on set

seq_id

Title   : seq_id
Usage   : my $seqid = $location->seq_id();
Function: Get/Set seq_id that location refers to
Returns : seq_id
Args    : [optional] seq_id value to set

coordinate_policy

Title   : coordinate_policy
Usage   : $policy = $location->coordinate_policy();
          $location->coordinate_policy($mypolicy); # set may not be possible
Function: Get the coordinate computing policy employed by this object.

          See Bio::Location::CoordinatePolicyI for documentation about
          the policy object and its use.

          The interface *does not* require implementing classes to accept
          setting of a different policy. The implementation provided here
          does, however, allow to do so.

          Implementors of this interface are expected to initialize every
          new instance with a CoordinatePolicyI object. The implementation
          provided here will return a default policy object if none has
          been set yet. To change this default policy object call this
          method as a class method with an appropriate argument. Note that
          in this case only subsequently created Location objects will be
          affected.

Returns : A Bio::Location::CoordinatePolicyI implementing object.
Args    : On set, a Bio::Location::CoordinatePolicyI implementing object.

to_FTstring

Title   : to_FTstring
Usage   : my $locstr = $location->to_FTstring()
Function: Get/Set seq_id that location refers to
Returns : seq_id
Args    : [optional] seq_id value to set

_fuzzypointdecode

Title   : _fuzzypointdecode
Usage   : ($type,$min,$max) = $self->_fuzzypointdecode('<5');
Function: Decode a fuzzy string.
Returns : A 3-element array consisting of the type of location, the
          minimum integer, and the maximum integer describing the range
          of coordinates this start or endpoint refers to. Minimum or
          maximum coordinate may be undefined.
        : Returns empty array on fail.
Args    : fuzzypoint string