Specifications

These pages provide the formal specification of the Crystallographic Information Framework file format.

Two closely-related syntaxes are available:version 1.1 andversion 2.0. The version number 1.0 was assigned retrospectively to the version described in the original paper ofHall, Allen & Brown (1991), asamended by COMCIFS 29 January 1997.

In addition to the formal specification, a number of ancillary notes are published that describe conventions or guidelines applied within one or more of the dictionaries of CIF data items that are used in various topic areas. These notes should be adhered to as closely as possible, in association with the formal specification of file syntax and implied semantics, to maximise the efficient interoperability of CIF-based applications.

International Tables for Crystallography

Volume G: Definition and exchange of crystallographic data

First online edition (2006)

Edited by S. R. Hall and B. McMahon

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		CIF dictionaries

An essential guide and reference to CIF for programmers, data managers handling crystal-structure information and practising crystallographers.

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