⚛️ A tool to visualise organic compounds

OCV (Organic Chemistry Visualiser) is a project that parses basic IUPAC nomenclature and renders the described compound.

OCV is a project I wrote to learn about how parsing and lexical analysis works. It should however be used as a visualiser, not as a IUPAC name verifier. This is as it attempts to be as accurate in parsing but has many limitations (take a look "What OCV can't do" section).

1. Go to the latest release on the releases page.
2. Download the .exe file for your system. If you're unsure, get the 32 bit version.
3. No installation, double click to run
4. 🧪 🎉

If something isn't working like you think it should, make sure you read through what OCV can and can't do below. If you are still stuck, create an issue.

• Locants cannot be guessed - they have to explicitly stated in every case.
  • e.g. hexandioic acid has to be entered as hexan-1,6-dioic acid.
  • Some simple cases have been patched - e.g. ethene can be entered instead of eth-1-ene. Specifically eth/ene/yne and prop/ene/yne names no longer need locants.
• Locants outside a main chain – e.g. 1-hexene will not parse. hex-1-ene should be used instead.
• Nitrogen locants (e.g. N-methyl) are not supported.
• Any functional group not listed in the "What OCV can do" section are not supported.
• Take a look at the three "Complex Example" names for examples of complicated nested organic compounds. They give a good overview of OCV's functionality.

• Straight chain and cyclical main bases
• The following functional groups (attached after the main chain, e.g. -ol, or as a substituent before the main chain, e.g. hydroxy-)
  • Alkenes and Alkynes
  • Acetyl groups
  • Fluoro, Chloro, Bromo and Iodo groups
  • Amide groups
  • Carboxylic acid
  • Aldehydes
  • Ketones
  • Alcohols
  • Amines
  • Nitro groups
  • Recursive substituents (substituents with substituents)
• Error messages on impossible / unparseable names, e.g hex-1,2-diyne

Example of a more complex name (not an actual compound but possible): 2,4,6-trihexyl-1,3,5-tri(7,5-di(5-cyclobutyl10-carboxy-6-nitrodecan-3,8-diynyl)cyclodecanyl)cyclohexane

If you're interested, take a look at howOCVworks.txt. It is a very comprehensive and (hopefully!) easy to read guide on how OCV works. Also take a look at the structure chart to see a visual overview of OCV (made with draw.io).

If you have any questions or comments, I'd love to hear from you! Send me an email on [email protected].

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details

• I referred to Cambridge University's OPSIN project a lot. See the online interface here.
• jaimebuilds' The Super Tiny Compiler project helped me understand how parsing works. See it here.
• I used "carbon rings" by Ben Davis from the Noun Project as the application logo.