This tutorial gives an introduction to the OpenMS core data structures and algorithms. It is intended to allow for a quick start in writing your own applications based on the OpenMS framework.

The structure of this tutorial is similar to the modules of the class documentation. First, the basic concepts and data structures of OpenMS are explained. The next chapter is about the kernel data structures. These data structures represent the actual mass spectrometric data: raw data, peaks, spectra and maps. In the following chapters, the more sophisticated data structures and algorithms, e.g. those used for peak picking, feature finding and identification are presented.

All the example programs used in this tutorial, can be found in doc/code_examples/.

If you are looking for C++ literature, we recommend the following books:

• C++: C++ Primer, Effective C++
• STL: Generic Programming and the STL, Effective STL, The C++ Standard Library
• Qt: C++ GUI Programming with Qt 4