[BioPython] BLAST result persistence

[Jeffrey Chang]

> Hi, all
> 
> I've just started to play with the BioPython package.
> I'll parse and process the output of BLAST using
> Bio.Blast module.

Great!

> I'd like to preserve BLAST results for later use.
> What should I do ?

I'd recommend saving the original blast results, rather than the parsed
object.  This way, you can always go back to the originals, in case the
parsed output wasn't what you expected.  When you need it reparse the text
output.  If you're using a really slow computer, then perhaps you can save a
pickled cache of the record as well.


> Now I plan to serialize and store them to disks by using
> cPickle, zlib, and shelve modules.
> Rather, should I preserve them as a plain text file ?

Plain text file is most convenient for the user.  gzip might be better, if
you're low on space.

Jeff