Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 November 2013
Some twenty years ago, it appeared that the crystallographic database had grown so large that it could no longer be described by conventional methods (see, for example, Structure Reports). Today we have available both computerized databases (CRYSTDAT, JCPDS diffraction data, etc.) and excellent bibliographies which enable us to search much larger databases rapidly and far more systematically, resulting in qualitative changes in methods and results. Following are five examples illustrating this point.