From command-line bioinformatics to bioGUI

Bioinformatics is a highly interdisciplinary field providing applications for scientists from many disciplines. Installing and starting applications on the command-line (CL) is a problem for many scientists, nonetheless, most methods are implemented with a CL interface only. Providing a GUI for bioinformatics applications is one step towards routinely making CL-only applications available to more scientists, and, thus towards a more effective interdisciplinary work.

We identified two main problems for conveniently using CL bioinformatic tools: First, many tools work on UNIX-systems only, while many scientists use Microsoft Windows. Second, scientists refrain from using command-line tools which, however, could well support them in their research. Both issues are addressed by bioGUI.

The bioGUI framework provides easy means to make CL tools available for most scientists, especially making use of Windows Subsystem for Linux, which provides a native Ubuntu bash on Windows. In addition, bioGUI templates are easily created (automatically), making this framework highly rewarding for developers. The bioGUI repository allows to install and use bioinformatics tools with just a few clicks.