Computer-Based Chemical Information: The Transition Years

Use of computer-based online searching of chemical information is now the preferred method of searching the chemical literature. It has fully supplanted many printed publications that no longer exist such as the printed Chemical Abstracts Collective Indexes. The technological advances in hardware, software and computer-readable information sources are reviewed showing how they contributed to the transition to online searching. Generalized search software was applied to content derived directly from printed sources that was often insufficient for direct computer-based usage. The advent of these services set the stage for the modern offerings in chemical information. Many of the early principles may be "rediscovered" as current popular (or simplified) search methods interact more with growing amounts of chemical information that may require more precise searching methods.