13 September 2012

Translating a DNA sequence in Google Spreadsheet using #GoogleAppScript

Google has released Google App Script.
"Google Apps Script is a JavaScript cloud scripting language that lets you extend Google Apps and build web applications. Scripts are developed in Google Apps Script’s browser-based script editor, and they are stored in and run from Google's servers.
Google Apps Script is very versatile. Here are some examples of things you can do with Google Apps Script":
  • Build custom functions in a Google Spreadsheet
  • Extend certain Google Apps products by creating custom menus linked to scripts
  • Create and publish web applications, which can run on their own or embedded within a Google Site
  • Schedule tasks like report creation and distribution and run them on a custom schedule
  • Automate workflows such as document or expense approvals, order fulfillment, time-tracking, and more

In the current post, I'll show how to create a custom javascript function that will

Translate a
DNA
to a
Protein
into a
Google Spreadsheet

Create a new Google Spreadhseet. Open the menu "Tools" > "Script Manager...". Click on New...

Click on "Create Blank Project".

A new editor is opened. Copy the following javascript code (https://gist.github.com/3716137) into the editor. Save the javascript projet.

Close the script, go back to the spreasheet. You can now use your new function =translateDNA(dna):

That's it,

Pierre

1 comment:

Egon Willighagen said...

If spreadsheets would start supporting plugging in data types too, they may finally become scientific... what I want is to hack up a DNA sequence data type, and annotate a whole column as date...

Pierre, what do you think? Is th e#GoogleAppScript API powerful to also do that?