pyjess 0.6.0__pp38-pypy38_pp73-win_amd64.whl → 0.7.0__pp38-pypy38_pp73-win_amd64.whl

pyjess/_jess.pyx

@@ -2,6 +2,73 @@
 # cython: language_level=3, linetrace=True, binding=True
 """Bindings to Jess, a 3D template matching software.
 
+Jess is an algorithm for constraint-based structural template matching
+proposed by Jonathan Barker *et al.*. It can be used to identify
+catalytic residues from a known template inside a protein structure. 
+Jess is an evolution of TESS, a geometric hashing algorithm developed by
+Andrew Wallace *et al.*, removing some pre-computation and
+structural requirements from the original algorithm. 
+
+PyJess is a Python module that provides bindings to Jess using
+`Cython <https://cython.org/>`_. It allows creating templates, querying 
+them with protein structures, and retrieving the hits using a Python API 
+without performing any external I/O. It's also more than 10x faster than 
+Jess thanks to algorithmic optimizations added to improve the original Jess 
+code while producing consistent results.
+
+Example:
+    Load templates from a file, either as a file-like object or 
+    given a filename::
+
+        >>> t1 = pyjess.Template.load("1.3.3.tpl")  # load from filename
+        >>> with open("4.1.2.tpl") as f:            # load from a file object
+        ...     t2 = pyjess.Template.load(f)
+
+    Load molecules from a file, either as a file-like object or given
+    a filename::
+
+        >>> mol = pyjess.Molecule.load("1AMY.pdb")
+        >>> mol[0]
+        Atom(serial=1, name='N', altloc=' ', residue_name='GLN', ...)
+
+    Create a `Jess` object storing the templates to support running 
+    queries on them. The individual templates can still be accessed by 
+    index::
+
+        >>> jess = pyjess.Jess([t1, t2])
+        >>> jess[0].id
+        '3r6v'
+
+    Run a query on the Jess object to retrieve all templates matching 
+    a `Molecule`, *in no particular order*::
+
+        >>> hits = jess.query(mol, 2, 2, 2)
+        >>> for hit in hits:
+        ...     print(hit.template.id, hit.rmsd)
+        2om2 1.4386...
+        2om2 1.4877...
+        2om2 1.4376...
+        2om2 1.5284...
+        2om2 1.4863...
+        2om2 1.4369...
+        2om2 1.4790...
+        2om2 1.1414...
+        2om2 1.0755...
+        2om2 1.1973...
+        2om2 1.1353...
+        2om2 1.0711...
+        2om2 1.1494...
+
+    By default, a template can match a molecule in more than one way, 
+    if several sets of atoms match the geometric constraints. Use the
+    ``best_match`` argument of `~Jess.query` to only retrieve the
+    best match per template::
+
+        >>> hits = jess.query(mol, 2, 2, 2, best_match=True)
+        >>> for hit in hits:
+        ...     print(hit.template.id, hit.rmsd)
+        2om2 1.071...
+
 References:
     - Barker, J. A., & Thornton, J. M. (2003). *An algorithm for
       constraint-based structural template matching: application to
@@ -18,10 +85,16 @@ References:
 # --- C imports --------------------------------------------------------------
 
 cimport cython
-from cpython.unicode cimport PyUnicode_FromStringAndSize
+from cpython.exc cimport PyErr_WarnEx
+from cpython.unicode cimport (
+    PyUnicode_FromStringAndSize,
+    PyUnicode_FromFormat,
+    PyUnicode_AsASCIIString,
+)
 
 from libc.math cimport isnan, exp, INFINITY, NAN
-from libc.stdio cimport FILE, fclose, fdopen, printf
+from libc.stdio cimport FILE, fclose, fdopen, printf, sprintf
+from libc.stdint cimport uintptr_t
 from libc.stdlib cimport calloc, realloc, free, malloc
 from libc.string cimport memcpy, memset, strncpy, strdup
 
@@ -37,24 +110,20 @@ from jess.jess cimport Jess as _Jess
 from jess.jess cimport JessQuery as _JessQuery
 from jess.molecule cimport Molecule as _Molecule
 from jess.super cimport Superposition as _Superposition
-from jess.template cimport Template as _Template
+from jess.template cimport Template as _Template, IgnoreType as _IgnoreType
 from jess.tess_template cimport TessTemplate as _TessTemplate
 from jess.tess_atom cimport TessAtom as _TessAtom
 
 # --- Python imports ---------------------------------------------------------
 
-import contextlib
 import functools
 import io
-import itertools
-import os
-import warnings
 
 __version__ = PROJECT_VERSION
 
 # --- Utils ------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-cdef inline void copy_token(char* dst, const char* src, size_t n) noexcept nogil:
+cdef inline void encode_token(char* dst, const char* src, size_t n) noexcept nogil:
     cdef size_t i
     for i in range(n):
         if src[i] == ord(' ') or src[i] == 0:
@@ -63,12 +132,155 @@ cdef inline void copy_token(char* dst, const char* src, size_t n) noexcept nogil
             dst[i] = src[i]
     dst[n] = 0
 
-@contextlib.contextmanager
-def nullcontext(return_value=None):
-    yield return_value
+cdef inline void decode_token(char* dst, const char* src, size_t n) noexcept nogil:
+    cdef size_t i
+    for i in range(n):
+        if src[i] == ord('_') or src[i] == 0:
+            dst[i] = ord(' ')
+        else:
+            dst[i] = src[i]
+    dst[n] = 0
+
+class nullcontext:
+    def __init__(self, return_value=None):
+        self.retval = return_value
+    def __enter__(self):
+        return self.retval
+    def __exit__(self, exc_type, exc_value, traceback):
+        return False
 
 # --- Classes ----------------------------------------------------------------
 
+cdef class _MoleculeParser:
+    cdef str id
+
+    def __init__(self, str id = None):
+        self.id = id
+
+cdef class _PDBMoleculeParser(_MoleculeParser):
+    cdef bint ignore_endmdl
+    cdef bint skip_hetatm
+
+    def __init__(self, str id = None, bint ignore_endmdl = False, bint skip_hetatm = False):
+        super().__init__(id=id)
+        self.ignore_endmdl = ignore_endmdl
+        self.skip_hetatm = skip_hetatm
+
+    def loads(self, text, molecule_type):
+        return self.load(io.StringIO(text), molecule_type)
+
+    def load(self, file, molecule_type):
+        cdef str  line
+        cdef str  id    = self.id
+        cdef list atoms = []
+        try:
+            handle = open(file)
+        except TypeError:
+            handle = nullcontext(file)
+        with handle as f:
+            for line in f:
+                if line.startswith("HEADER"):
+                    if id is None:
+                        id = line[62:66].strip() or None
+                elif line.startswith("ATOM"):
+                    atoms.append(Atom.loads(line))
+                elif line.startswith("HETATM") and not self.skip_hetatm:
+                    atoms.append(Atom.loads(line))
+                elif line.startswith("ENDMDL"):
+                    if not self.ignore_endmdl:
+                        break
+                elif line.lower().startswith(("data_", "loop_")):
+                    raise ValueError("mmCIF data tags found, file is not in PDB format")
+        return molecule_type(atoms, id=id)
+
+
+cdef class _CIFMoleculeParser(_MoleculeParser):
+    cdef object gemmi
+    cdef bint use_author
+    cdef bint skip_hetatm
+
+    _PRIMARY_COLUMNS = [
+        'id', 'type_symbol', 'label_atom_id', 'label_alt_id', 'label_comp_id',
+        'label_asym_id', 'label_seq_id', '?pdbx_PDB_ins_code', 'Cartn_x',
+        'Cartn_y', 'Cartn_z', 'occupancy', 'B_iso_or_equiv',
+        '?pdbx_formal_charge', '?group_PDB',
+    ]
+
+    _AUTH_COLUMNS = [
+        'id', 'type_symbol', 'auth_atom_id', 'label_alt_id', 'auth_comp_id',
+        'auth_asym_id', 'auth_seq_id', '?pdbx_PDB_ins_code', 'Cartn_x',
+        'Cartn_y', 'Cartn_z', 'occupancy', 'B_iso_or_equiv',
+        '?pdbx_formal_charge', '?group_PDB',
+    ]
+
+    def __init__(self, str id = None, bint use_author = False, bint skip_hetatm = False):
+        super().__init__(id=id)
+        self.gemmi = __import__('gemmi')
+        self.use_author = use_author
+        self.skip_hetatm = skip_hetatm
+
+    def _load_block(self, document, molecule_type):
+        block = document.sole_block()
+        cols = self._AUTH_COLUMNS if self.use_author else self._PRIMARY_COLUMNS
+        table = block.find('_atom_site.', cols)
+        max_residue_number = 0
+
+        if not table:
+            raise ValueError("missing columns in CIF files")
+
+        atoms = []
+        for row in table:
+            if row[14] != "ATOM" and (row[14] != "HETATM" or self.skip_hetatm):
+                continue
+
+            if row[6] == "." and row[14] == "HETATM":
+                PyErr_WarnEx(
+                    UserWarning,
+                    "HETATM line found without residue number. Consider "
+                    "parsing with use_author=True to use author-defined "
+                    "residue numbers, or skip_hetatm=True to disable "
+                    "parsing of HETATM altogether.",
+                    3,
+                )
+                residue_number = max_residue_number
+                max_residue_number += 1
+            else:
+                residue_number = int(row[6])
+                max_residue_number = max(residue_number, max_residue_number)
+
+            atom = Atom(
+                serial=int(row[0]),
+                element=row[1],
+                name=row[2],
+                altloc=' ' if row[3] == "." else row[3], # FIXME: replace with None?
+                residue_name=row[4],
+                chain_id=row[5],
+                residue_number=residue_number,
+                insertion_code=' ' if not row.has(7) or row[7] == "?" else row[7],
+                x=float(row[8]),
+                y=float(row[9]),
+                z=float(row[10]),
+                occupancy=0.0 if row[11] == '.' else float(row[11]),
+                temperature_factor=float(row[12]),
+                charge=0 if not row.has(13) or row[13] == "?" else int(row[13]),
+            )
+            atoms.append(atom)
+
+        id = block.name if self.id is None else self.id
+        return molecule_type(atoms, id=id)
+
+    def loads(self, text, molecule_type):
+        document = self.gemmi.cif.read_string(text)
+        return self._load_block(document, molecule_type)
+
+    def load(self, file, molecule_type):
+        if hasattr(file, "read"):
+            document = self.gemmi.cif.read_string(file.read())
+        else:
+            document = self.gemmi.cif.read_file(file)
+        return self._load_block(document, molecule_type)
+
+
 cdef class Molecule:
     """A molecule structure, as a sequence of `Atom` objects.
 
@@ -83,20 +295,40 @@ cdef class Molecule:
     cdef str        _id
 
     @classmethod
-    def loads(cls, text, str id = None, bint ignore_endmdl = False):
+    def loads(
+        cls,
+        text,
+        str format = "pdb",
+        *,
+        str id = None,
+        bint ignore_endmdl = False,
+        bint use_author = False,
+        bint skip_hetatm = False,
+    ):
         """Load a molecule from a PDB string.
 
         Arguments:
-            file (`str`, `os.PathLike`, or file-like object): Either the path
-                to a file, or a file-like object opened in **text mode**
-                containing a PDB molecule.
+            text (`str`): The serialized molecule to parse into a new
+                object.
+            format (`str`): The format to parse the file. Supported formats
+                are: ``pdb`` for the Protein Data Bank format, ``cif``
+                for Crystallographic Information File format (additionally
+                requires the `gemmi` module), or ``detect`` to attempt
+                auto-detection (the default).
+
+        Keyword Arguments:
             id (`str`, optional): The identifier of the molecule. If `None`
                 given, the parser will attempt to extract it from the
-                ``HEADER`` line.
+                ``HEADER`` line (for PDB files) or the block name (for CIF
+                files).
             ignore_endmdl (`bool`): Pass `True` to make the parser read all
                 the atoms from the PDB file. By default, the parser only
                 reads the atoms of the first model, and stops at the first
-                ``ENDMDL`` line.
+                ``ENDMDL`` line. *Ignored for CIF files*.
+            use_author (`bool`): Pass `True` to use the author-defined
+                labels while parsing CIF files, e.g. read the chain name
+                from ``_atom_site.auth_asym_id`` rather than
+                ``_atom_site.label_asym_id``. *Ignored for PDB files*.
 
         Returns:
             `~pyjess.Molecule`: The molecule parsed from the PDB file.
@@ -105,46 +337,264 @@ cdef class Molecule:
             `Molecule.load` to load a PDB molecule from a file-like
             object or from a path.
 
+        Caution:
+            Parsing from PDB file retains the heteroatoms (``HETATM`` lines)
+            while parsing from mmCIF usually discard them. This is because
+            mmCIF files store heteroatoms but do not require them to
+            have an associated residue number, which can throw off the way
+            atoms are modeled in Jess.
+
+        .. versionadded:: 0.7.0
+            The ``format`` argument, and support for CIF parsing.
+
         """
-        return cls.load(io.StringIO(text), id=id, ignore_endmdl=ignore_endmdl)
+        if format == "detect":
+            format = "cif" if text.lstrip().startswith(("data_", "loop_")) else "pdb"
+        return cls.load(
+            io.StringIO(text),
+            format=format,
+            id=id,
+            ignore_endmdl=ignore_endmdl,
+            skip_hetatm=skip_hetatm,
+        )
 
     @classmethod
-    def load(cls, file, str id = None, bint ignore_endmdl = False):
+    def load(
+        cls,
+        file,
+        str format = "detect",
+        *,
+        str id = None,
+        bint ignore_endmdl = False,
+        bint use_author = False,
+        bint skip_hetatm = False,
+    ):
         """Load a molecule from a PDB file.
 
         Arguments:
             file (`str`, `os.PathLike`, or file-like object): Either the path
                 to a file, or a file-like object opened in **text mode**
-                containing a PDB molecule.
+                containing a molecule.
+            format (`str`): The format to parse the file. Supported formats
+                are: ``pdb`` for the Protein Data Bank format, ``cif``
+                for Crystallographic Information File format (additionally
+                requires the `gemmi` module), or ``detect`` to attempt
+                auto-detection (the default).
+
+        Keyword Arguments:
             id (`str`, optional): The identifier of the molecule. If `None`
                 given, the parser will attempt to extract it from the
-                ``HEADER`` line.
+                ``HEADER`` line (for PDB files) or the block name (for CIF
+                files).
             ignore_endmdl (`bool`): Pass `True` to make the parser read all
                 the atoms from the PDB file. By default, the parser only
                 reads the atoms of the first model, and stops at the first
-                ``ENDMDL`` line.
+                ``ENDMDL`` line. *Ignored for CIF files*.
+            use_author (`bool`): Pass `True` to use the author-defined
+                labels while parsing CIF files, e.g. read the chain name
+                from ``_atom_site.auth_asym_id`` rather than
+                ``_atom_site.label_asym_id``. *Ignored for PDB files*.
+            skip_hetatm (`bool`): Pass `True` to skip parsing of heteroatoms
+                (``HETATM``) in the input file.
 
         Returns:
             `~pyjess.Molecule`: The molecule parsed from the PDB file.
 
+        See Also:
+            `Molecule.loads` to load a PDB molecule from a string.
+
+        Caution:
+            Parsing from PDB file retains the heteroatoms (``HETATM`` lines)
+            while parsing from mmCIF usually discard them. This is because
+            mmCIF files store heteroatoms but do not require them to
+            have an associated residue number, which can throw off the way
+            atoms are modeled in Jess.
+
+        .. versionadded:: 0.7.0
+            The ``format`` and ``skip_hetatm`` arguments, and mmCIF support.
+
         """
-        try:
-            handle = open(file)
-        except TypeError:
-            handle = nullcontext(file)
-        with handle as f:
-            atoms = []
-            for line in f:
-                if line.startswith("HEADER"):
-                    if id is None:
-                        id = line[62:66].strip() or None
-                elif line.startswith(("ATOM", "HETATM")):
-                    atoms.append(Atom.loads(line))
-                elif line.startswith("ENDMDL"):
-                    if not ignore_endmdl:
-                        break
+        cdef _MoleculeParser parser
+        cdef str             peek
+
+        if format == "detect":
+            try:
+                handle = open(file)
+            except TypeError:
+                handle = nullcontext(file)
+            with handle as f:
+                if f.seekable():
+                    peek = f.read(5)
+                    f.seek(0)
+                else:
+                    f = f.read()
+                    peek = f[5:]
+                if peek.startswith(("data_", "loop_")):
+                    parser = _CIFMoleculeParser(
+                        id=id,
+                        use_author=use_author,
+                        skip_hetatm=skip_hetatm,
+                    )
+                else:
+                    parser = _PDBMoleculeParser(
+                        id=id,
+                        ignore_endmdl=ignore_endmdl,
+                        skip_hetatm=skip_hetatm,
+                    )
+                if isinstance(f, str):
+                    return parser.loads(f, molecule_type=cls)
+                return parser.load(f, molecule_type=cls)
+        if format == "pdb":
+            parser = _PDBMoleculeParser(
+                id=id,
+                ignore_endmdl=ignore_endmdl,
+                skip_hetatm=skip_hetatm
+            )
+        elif format == "cif":
+            parser = _CIFMoleculeParser(
+                id=id,
+                use_author=use_author,
+                skip_hetatm=skip_hetatm,
+            )
+        else:
+            raise ValueError(f"invalid value for `format` argument: {format!r}")
+        return parser.load(file, molecule_type=cls)
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_biopython(cls, object structure, str id = None):
+        """Create a new `~pyjess.Molecule` from a `Bio.PDB.Structure`.
+
+        Arguments:
+            structure (`Bio.PDB.Structure` or `Bio.PDB.Model`): The
+                Biopython object containing the structure data.
+            id (`str` or `None`): The identifier to give to the newly
+                created molecule. If `None` given, will use the value of
+                ``structure.id``.
+
+        Returns:
+            `~pyjess.Molecule`: A molecule object suitable for using
+            in `Jess.query`.
+
+        .. versionadded:: 0.7.0
+
+        """
+        cdef list atoms = []
+        for c in structure.get_chains():
+            for r in c.get_residues():
+                _, residue_number, insertion_code = r.id
+                for a in r.get_atoms():
+                    coord = a.get_coord()
+                    atom = Atom(
+                        name=a.fullname,
+                        x=coord[0],
+                        y=coord[1],
+                        z=coord[2],
+                        altloc=a.altloc,
+                        charge=a.pqr_charge or 0,
+                        occupancy=a.occupancy,
+                        serial=a.serial_number,
+                        residue_name=r.resname,
+                        residue_number=residue_number,
+                        segment=r.segid,
+                        insertion_code=insertion_code,
+                        chain_id=c.id,
+                        temperature_factor=a.bfactor,
+                        element=a.element,
+                    )
+                    atoms.append(atom)
+        return cls(atoms, id=structure.id)
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_gemmi(cls, object model, str id=None):
+        """Create a new `~pyjess.Molecule` from a `gemmi.Model`.
+
+        Arguments:
+            structure (`gemmi.Model`): The ``gemmi`` object
+                containing the structure data.
+            id (`str` or `None`): The identifier to give to the newly
+                created molecule.
+
+        Returns:
+            `~pyjess.Molecule`: A molecule object suitable for using
+            in `Jess.query`.
+
+        .. versionadded:: 0.7.0
+
+        """
+        cdef list atoms = []
+        for cra in model.all():
+            a = cra.atom
+            r = cra.residue
+            c = cra.chain
+            atom = Atom(
+                name=a.padded_name(),
+                x=a.pos[0],
+                y=a.pos[1],
+                z=a.pos[2],
+                altloc=' ' if a.altloc == '\0' else a.altloc,
+                charge=a.charge,
+                element=a.element.name.upper(),
+                occupancy=a.occ,
+                temperature_factor=a.b_iso,
+                serial=a.serial,
+                segment=r.segment,
+                residue_name=r.name,
+                residue_number=r.seqid.num,
+                chain_id=c.name,
+                insertion_code=r.seqid.icode,
+            )
+            atoms.append(atom)
         return cls(atoms, id=id)
 
+    @classmethod
+    def from_biotite(cls, object atom_array, str id=None):
+        """Create a new `~pyjess.Molecule` from a `biotite.structure.AtomArray`.
+
+        Arguments:
+            structure (`biotite.structure.AtomArray`): The ``biotite``
+                object containing the structure data.
+
+        Returns:
+            `~pyjess.Molecule`: A molecule object suitable for using
+            in `Jess.query`.
+
+        Caution:
+            If loading data with the `biotite.structure.io.pdb.PDBFile` module,
+            ensure that you are requesting all atoms and all extra fields
+            in `~biotite.structure.io.pdb.PDBFile.get_structure`::
+
+                db_file = PDBFile.read("data/1AMY.pdb")
+                structure = pdb_file.get_structure(
+                    altloc="all",
+                    extra_fields=["atom_id", "b_factor", "occupancy", "charge"],
+                )
+                molecule = Molecule.from_biotite(structure[0])
+
+        .. versionadded:: 0.7.0
+
+        """
+        cdef list atoms = []
+        for a in atom_array:
+            atom = Atom(
+                name=str(a.atom_name),
+                x=a.coord[0],
+                y=a.coord[1],
+                z=a.coord[2],
+                altloc=str(getattr(a, 'altloc', ' ')),
+                charge=getattr(a, 'charge', 0),
+                element=str(a.element),
+                occupancy=getattr(a, 'occupancy', 1.0),
+                temperature_factor=a.b_factor,
+                serial=a.atom_id,
+                segment=str(getattr(a, 'segment', '')),
+                residue_name=str(a.res_name),
+                residue_number=a.res_id,
+                chain_id=str(a.chain_id),
+                insertion_code=str(a.ins_code).ljust(1),
+            )
+            atoms.append(atom)
+        return cls(atoms)
+
     def __cinit__(self):
         self._mol = NULL
 
@@ -249,17 +699,32 @@ cdef class Molecule:
         return self._id
 
     cpdef Molecule conserved(self, double cutoff = 0.0):
+        """Get a molecule containing only a subset of conserved atoms.
+
+        Arguments:
+            cutoff (`float`): The conservation cutoff for atoms. Atoms
+                with a `~Atom.temperature_factor` lower than this value
+                will be removed from the result.
+
+        Returns:
+            `~pyjess.Molecule`: A new molecule with atoms below the
+            conservation cutoff removed.
+
+        """
         assert self._mol is not NULL
-        cdef Atom atom
-        return type(self)(
-            id=self.id,
-            atoms=[
-                atom
-                for atom in self
-                if cutoff <= 0.0
-                or atom._atom.tempFactor >= cutoff
-            ]
-        )
+
+        cdef size_t i
+        cdef list   atoms
+
+        if cutoff <= 0.0:
+            return self.copy()
+
+        atoms = []
+        for i in range(self._mol.count):
+            if self._mol.atom[i].tempFactor >= cutoff:
+                atoms.append(self[i])
+
+        return type(self)(id=self.id, atoms=atoms)
 
     cpdef Molecule copy(self):
         """Create a copy of this molecule and its atoms.
@@ -366,21 +831,21 @@ cdef class Atom:
         *,
         int serial,
         str name,
-        str altloc,
         str residue_name,
         str chain_id,
         int residue_number,
-        str insertion_code,
         double x,
         double y,
         double z,
         double occupancy = 0.0,
         double temperature_factor = 0.0,
+        str altloc = ' ',
+        str insertion_code = ' ',
         str segment = '',
         str element = '',
         int charge = 0,
     ):
-        """__init__(self, *, serial, name, altloc, residue_name, chain_id, residue_number, insertion_code, x, y, z, occupancy=0.0, temperature_factor=0.0, segment='', element='', charge=0)\n--\n
+        """__init__(self, *, serial, name, residue_name, chain_id, residue_number, x, y, z, occupancy=0.0, temperature_factor=0.0, altloc=' ', insertion_code=' ', segment='', element='', charge=0)\n--\n
 
         Create a new atom.
 
@@ -392,11 +857,16 @@ cdef class Atom:
                 long.
 
         """
+        cdef bytearray _name
+        cdef bytes     _residue_name
+        cdef bytes     _segment
+        cdef bytes     _element
+
         if len(name) > 4:
             raise ValueError(f"Invalid atom name: {name!r}")
         if len(residue_name) > 3:
             raise ValueError(f"Invalid residue name: {residue_name!r}")
-        if len(segment) > 3:
+        if len(segment) > 4:
             raise ValueError(f"Invalid segment: {segment!r}")
         if len(element) > 2:
             raise ValueError(f"Invalid element: {element!r}")
@@ -407,6 +877,10 @@ cdef class Atom:
         if self._atom is NULL:
             raise MemoryError("Failed to allocate atom")
 
+        _residue_name = PyUnicode_AsASCIIString(residue_name)
+        _segment = PyUnicode_AsASCIIString(segment)
+        _element = PyUnicode_AsASCIIString(element)
+
         self._atom.serial = serial
         self._atom.altLoc = ord(altloc)
         self._atom.chainID1 = ord(chain_id[0]) if len(chain_id) > 0 else 0
@@ -419,14 +893,15 @@ cdef class Atom:
         self._atom.occupancy = occupancy
         self._atom.tempFactor = temperature_factor
         self._atom.charge = charge
-        copy_token(self._atom.resName, residue_name.encode('ascii').ljust(3, b'\0'), 3)
-        copy_token(self._atom.segID, segment.encode('ascii').ljust(3, b'\0'), 3)
-        copy_token(self._atom.element, element.encode('ascii').ljust(2, b'\0'), 2)
+        encode_token(self._atom.resName, _residue_name.ljust(3, b'\0'), 3)
+        encode_token(self._atom.segID, _segment.ljust(4, b'\0'), 4)
+        encode_token(self._atom.element, _element.ljust(2, b'\0'), 2)
 
+        # FIXME: is alignment proper?
         _name = bytearray(name, 'ascii')
         if len(_name) < 4:
             _name.insert(0, ord('_'))
-        copy_token(self._atom.name, _name.ljust(4, b'\0'), 4)
+        encode_token(self._atom.name, _name.ljust(4, b'\0'), 4)
 
     def __copy__(self):
         return self.copy()
@@ -519,7 +994,7 @@ cdef class Atom:
         """`str`: The segment identifier.
         """
         assert self._atom is not NULL
-        return self._atom.segID[:3].decode('ascii').strip('_')
+        return self._atom.segID[:4].decode('ascii').strip('_')
 
     @property
     def element(self):
@@ -540,7 +1015,7 @@ cdef class Atom:
         """`str`: The identifier of the chain the atom belongs to.
         """
         assert self._atom is not NULL
-        return "{}{}".format(chr(self._atom.chainID1), chr(self._atom.chainID2)).strip()
+        return PyUnicode_FromFormat("%c%c", self._atom.chainID1, self._atom.chainID2).strip()
 
     @property
     def occupancy(self):
@@ -565,16 +1040,22 @@ cdef class Atom:
 
     @property
     def x(self):
+        """`float`: The atom coordinate in the 1st dimension.
+        """
         assert self._atom is not NULL
         return self._atom.x[0]
 
     @property
     def y(self):
+        """`float`: The atom coordinate in the 2nd dimension.
+        """
         assert self._atom is not NULL
         return self._atom.x[1]
 
     @property
     def z(self):
+        """`float`: The atom coordinate in the 3rd dimension.
+        """
         assert self._atom is not NULL
         return self._atom.x[2]
 
@@ -736,18 +1217,19 @@ cdef class TemplateAtom:
                 _name = bytearray(name, 'ascii')
             else:
                 _name = bytearray(name)
+            # FIXME: is alignment proper?
             if len(_name) > 4:
                 raise ValueError(f"Invalid atom name: {name!r}")
-            elif len(_name) < 3:
+            elif len(_name) <= 3:
                 _name.insert(0, ord('_'))
-            copy_token(self._atom.name[m], _name.ljust(4, b'\0'), 4)
+            encode_token(self._atom.name[m], _name.ljust(4, b'\0'), 4)
 
         # copy residue names
         for m, name in enumerate(residue_names):
             _name = name.encode('ascii') if isinstance(name, str) else name
             if len(_name) > 3:
                 raise ValueError(f"Invalid residue name: {name!r}")
-            copy_token(self._atom.resName[m], _name.ljust(3, b'\0'), 3)
+            encode_token(self._atom.resName[m], _name.ljust(3, b'\0'), 3)
 
     cdef dict _state(self):
         return {
@@ -821,7 +1303,7 @@ cdef class TemplateAtom:
         assert self._atom is not NULL
         cdef char c1 = jess.tess_atom.TessAtom_chainID1(self._atom)
         cdef char c2 = jess.tess_atom.TessAtom_chainID2(self._atom)
-        return "{}{}".format(chr(c1), chr(c2)).strip()
+        return PyUnicode_FromFormat("%c%c", c1, c2).strip()
 
     @property
     def x(self):
@@ -895,7 +1377,10 @@ cdef class TemplateAtom:
         .. versionadded:: 0.4.0
 
         """
-        return type(self)(**self._state())
+        cdef TemplateAtom atom = TemplateAtom.__new__(TemplateAtom)
+        with nogil:
+            atom._atom = jess.tess_atom.TessAtom_copy(self._atom)
+        return atom
 
 
 cdef class Template:
@@ -948,12 +1433,13 @@ cdef class Template:
             `~pyjess.Template`: The template parsed from the given file.
 
         """
+        cdef str  line
+        cdef list atoms = []
         try:
             handle = open(file)
         except TypeError:
             handle = nullcontext(file)
         with handle as f:
-            atoms = []
             for line in f:
                 if line.startswith("ATOM"):
                     atoms.append(TemplateAtom.loads(line))
@@ -1050,7 +1536,14 @@ cdef class Template:
                 self._tess.distance[j][i] = dist
 
         # compute dimension
-        residues = { self._tess.atom[i].resSeq for i in range(count) }
+        residues = {
+            (
+                self._tess.atom[i].resSeq ,
+                self._tess.atom[i].chainID1,
+                self._tess.atom[i].chainID2,
+            )
+            for i in range(count)
+        }
         self._tess.dim = len(residues)
 
     def __copy__(self):
@@ -1133,6 +1626,8 @@ cdef class Template:
 
     @property
     def id(self):
+        """`str` or `None`: An identifier for the template, if any.
+        """
         assert self._tpl is not NULL
 
         cdef const char* name = self._tpl.name(self._tpl)
@@ -1148,11 +1643,18 @@ cdef class Template:
         return self._tess.dim
 
     cpdef Template copy(self):
-        return Template(
-            self,
-            self.id
-        )
+        """Create a copy of the template.
+
+        Returns:
+            `~pyjess.Template`: A new template object with identical
+            attributes and a copy of the `TemplateAtom` it contains.
 
+        """
+        cdef Template tpl = Template.__new__(Template)
+        with nogil:
+            tpl._tpl = self._tpl.copy(self._tpl)
+            tpl._tess = <_TessTemplate*> &tpl._tpl[1]
+        return tpl
 
 cdef class Query:
     """A query over templates with a given molecule.
@@ -1168,10 +1670,6 @@ cdef class Query:
             the templates.
         rmsd_threshold (`float`): The RMSD threshold for reporting
             results.
-        max_candidates (`int`): The maximum number of candidate hits
-            to report.
-        ignore_chain (`bool`): Whether to check or ignore the chain of
-            the atoms to match.
         best_match (`bool`): Whether the query will return only the
             best match to each template.
 
@@ -1179,18 +1677,20 @@ cdef class Query:
     cdef _JessQuery* _jq
     cdef bint        _partial
     cdef int         _candidates
+    cdef uintptr_t   _prev_tpl
+    cdef int         _max_candidates
+    cdef _IgnoreType _ignore_chain
 
     cdef readonly Jess     jess
     cdef readonly Molecule molecule
-    cdef readonly bint     ignore_chain
     cdef readonly bint     best_match
     cdef readonly double   rmsd_threshold
-    cdef readonly int      max_candidates
 
     def __cinit__(self):
         self._jq = NULL
         self._candidates = 0
         self._partial = False
+        self._prev_tpl = 0
 
     def __dealloc__(self):
         jess.jess.JessQuery_free(self._jq)
@@ -1198,11 +1698,48 @@ cdef class Query:
     def __iter__(self):
         return self
 
+    @property
+    def ignore_chain(self):
+        """`str` or `None`: The way atom chains are considered or discarded.
+        """
+        if self._ignore_chain == _IgnoreType.ignoreNone:
+            return None
+        elif self._ignore_chain == _IgnoreType.ignoreResidues:
+            return "residues"
+        elif self._ignore_chain == _IgnoreType.ignoreAtoms:
+            return "atoms"
+
+    @ignore_chain.setter
+    def ignore_chain(self, ignore_chain):
+        if ignore_chain is None:
+            self._ignore_chain = _IgnoreType.ignoreNone
+        elif ignore_chain == "residues":
+            self._ignore_chain = _IgnoreType.ignoreResidues
+        elif ignore_chain == "atoms":
+            self._ignore_chain = _IgnoreType.ignoreAtoms
+        else:
+            raise ValueError(f"invalid value for `ignore_chain`: {ignore_chain!r}")
+
+    @property
+    def max_candidates(self):
+        """`int`: The maximum number of candidate hits to report *by template*.
+        """
+        return None if self._max_candidates == -1 else self._max_candidates
+
+    @max_candidates.setter
+    def max_candidates(self, max_candidates):
+        if max_candidates is None:
+            self._max_candidates = -1
+        elif max_candidates >= 0:
+            self._max_candidates = max_candidates
+        else:
+            raise ValueError(f"invalid value for `max_candidates` argument: {max_candidates!r}")
+
     cdef bint _advance(self) noexcept nogil:
         if self._partial:
             self._partial = False
             return True
-        return jess.jess.JessQuery_next(self._jq, self.ignore_chain)
+        return jess.jess.JessQuery_next(self._jq, self._ignore_chain)
 
     cdef bint _rewind(self) noexcept nogil:
         self._partial = True
@@ -1246,10 +1783,11 @@ cdef class Query:
 
         # search the next hit without the GIL to allow parallel queries.
         with nogil:
-            while self._advance() and self._candidates < self.max_candidates:
+            while self._advance():
                 # load current iteration template, and check that the hit
                 # was obtained with the current template and not with the
                 # previous one
+                self._prev_tpl = <uintptr_t> tpl
                 tpl = jess.jess.JessQuery_template(self._jq)
                 if hit_found and hit_tpl != tpl:
                     self._rewind()
@@ -1276,10 +1814,10 @@ cdef class Query:
 
                     if nan:
                         with gil:
-                            warnings.warn(
-                                "Jess returned a superposition matrix with NaN values",
+                            PyErr_WarnEx(
                                 UserWarning,
-                                stacklevel=2,
+                                "Jess returned a superposition matrix with NaN values",
+                                2,
                             )
                     else:
                         self._copy_atoms(tpl, hit)
@@ -1288,9 +1826,21 @@ cdef class Query:
                         hit_tpl = tpl
                         hit_found = True
 
-                # free superposition items that are not used in a hit, and
-                # return hits immediately if we are not in best match mode
-                self._candidates += 1
+                # check if we already made it to the next template,
+                # or if we need to short-circuit the iteration and
+                # force the query to move to the next template as
+                # we found too many candidates already.
+                if <uintptr_t> tpl != self._prev_tpl:
+                    self._candidates = 0
+                else:
+                    self._candidates += 1
+                if self._max_candidates != -1 and self._candidates > self._max_candidates:
+                    self._candidates = 0
+                    jess.jess.JessQuery_nextTemplate(self._jq)
+
+                # free superposition items (as relevant data was copied in
+                # the Hit if needed) and return hits immediately if we are
+                # not in best match mode
                 jess.super.Superposition_free(sup)
                 if hit_found and not self.best_match:
                     break
@@ -1357,6 +1907,18 @@ cdef class Hit:
         for i, atom in enumerate(state["atoms"]):
             memcpy(&self._atoms[i], atom._atom, sizeof(_Atom))
 
+    cdef void _transform_atom(self, double* x, const double* src):
+        cdef size_t        i
+        cdef size_t        j
+        cdef const double* M = self._rotation
+        cdef const double* c = self._centre[0]
+        cdef const double* v = self._centre[1]
+
+        for i in range(3):
+            x[i] = v[i]
+            for j in range(3):
+                x[i] += M[3*i + j] * (src[j] - c[j])
+
     @property
     def determinant(self):
         """`float`: The determinant of the rotation matrix.
@@ -1425,15 +1987,11 @@ cdef class Hit:
             if transform:
                 atom._atom = <_Atom*> malloc(sizeof(_Atom))
                 memcpy(atom._atom, &self._atoms[k], sizeof(_Atom))
-                for i in range(3):
-                    atom._atom.x[i] = v[i]
-                    for j in range(3):
-                        atom._atom.x[i] += M[3*i + j] * (self._atoms[k].x[j] - c[j])
+                self._transform_atom(atom._atom.x, self._atoms[k].x)
             else:
                 atom.owned = True
                 atom.owner = self
                 atom._atom = &self._atoms[k]
-
             atoms.append(atom)
 
         return atoms
@@ -1469,17 +2027,142 @@ cdef class Hit:
         mol = self._molecule.copy()
         for k in range(mol._mol.count):
             atom = mol._mol.atom[k]
-            for i in range(3):
-                atom.x[i] = v[i]
-                for j in range(3):
-                    atom.x[i] += M[3*i + j] * (self._molecule._mol.atom[k].x[j] - c[j])
+            self._transform_atom(atom.x, self._molecule._mol.atom[k].x)
 
         return mol
 
+    cpdef str dumps(self, str format="pdb", bint transform=True):
+        """Write the hit to a string.
+
+        Arguments:
+            format (`str`): The format in which to write the hit.
+                Currently only supports ``pdb``, which writes the hits
+                in the same format as Jess.
+            transform (`bool`): Whether or not to transform coordinates
+                of the molecule atoms into template frame.
+
+        Raises:
+            `RuntimeError`: When attempting to dump a `Hit` which was
+                obtained from a `Template` which has no `~Template.id`.
+
+        .. versionadded:: 0.7.0
+
+        """
+        file = io.StringIO()
+        self.dump(file, format=format, transform=transform)
+        return file.getvalue()
+
+    cpdef void dump(self, object file, str format="pdb", bint transform=True):
+        """Write the hit to a file.
+
+        Arguments:
+            file (file-like object): A file opened in *text* mode where the
+                hit will be written.
+            format (`str`): The format in which to write the hit.
+                Currently only supports ``pdb``, which writes the hits
+                in the same format as Jess.
+            transform (`bool`): Whether or not to transform coordinates
+                of the molecule atoms into template frame.
+
+        Raises:
+            `RuntimeError`: When attempting to dump a `Hit` which was
+                obtained from a `Template` which has no `~Template.id`.
+
+        .. versionadded:: 0.7.0
+
+        """
+        assert self.template._tpl is not NULL
+        assert self._molecule._mol is not NULL
+
+        cdef _Atom*    atom
+        cdef size_t    k
+        cdef char[80]  buffer
+        cdef char[5]   name
+        cdef char[5]   resname
+        cdef double[3] x
+        cdef int       count   = self.template._tpl.count(self.template._tpl)
+
+        if self.template.id is None:
+            raise RuntimeError("cannot dump `Hit` where `self.template.id` is `None`")
+
+        file.write("REMARK ")
+        file.write(self._molecule.id)
+        file.write(f" {self.rmsd:5.3f} ")
+        file.write(self.template.id)
+        file.write(f" Det={self.determinant:4,.1f} log(E)~ {self.log_evalue:4.2f}\n")
+
+        for k in range(count):
+            atom = &self._atoms[k]
+            decode_token(name, atom.name, 4)
+            decode_token(resname, atom.resName, 3)
+            if transform:
+                self._transform_atom(x, atom.x)
+            else:
+                memcpy(x, atom.x, 3*sizeof(double))
+            n = sprintf(
+                buffer,
+                "ATOM  %5i%5s%c%-3s%c%c%4i%-4c%8.3f%8.3f%8.3f%6.2f%6.2f\n",
+                atom.serial,
+                name,
+                atom.altLoc,
+                resname,
+                atom.chainID1,
+                atom.chainID2,
+                atom.resSeq,
+                atom.iCode,
+                x[0],
+                x[1],
+                x[2],
+                atom.occupancy,
+                atom.tempFactor,
+                atom.segID,
+                atom.element,
+                atom.charge
+            )
+            file.write(PyUnicode_FromStringAndSize(buffer, n))
+        file.write("ENDMDL\n")
 
 cdef class Jess:
     """A handle to run Jess over a list of templates.
 
+    Example:
+        Create a `Jess` object from a list of templates::
+
+            >>> t1 = Template.load("1.3.3.tpl")
+            >>> t2 = Template.load("4.1.2.tpl")
+            >>> jess = Jess([t1, t2])
+
+        Once initialized, the `Jess` object cannot be modified further.
+        Use the `~Jess.query` method to query the templates with a
+        molecule::
+
+            >>> molecule = Molecule.load("1AMY.pdb")
+            >>> query = jess.query(molecule, 2, 2, 2)
+
+        The returned `Query` object is an iterator that can be
+        advanced through a ``for`` loop, or with the `next` built-in
+        function to get the first hit:
+
+            >>> hit = next(query)
+            >>> hit.rmsd
+            1.4386...
+
+        The hit can also be formatted in PDB format like in the
+        original JESS code::
+
+            >>> print(hit.dumps(format="pdb"), end="")
+            REMARK 1AMY 1.439 2om2 Det= 1.0 log(E)~ 1.11
+            ATOM    729  CA  THR A  94      34.202 -24.426   8.851  1.00  2.00
+            ATOM    732  CB  THR A  94      35.157 -23.467   8.101  1.00  4.66
+            ATOM    733  OG1 THR A  94      36.338 -23.247   8.871  1.00  9.85
+            ATOM    746  CD  GLU A  96      41.454 -29.509   8.013  1.00 24.05
+            ATOM    748  OE2 GLU A  96      42.536 -29.680   7.441  1.00 34.44
+            ATOM    747  OE1 GLU A  96      41.212 -28.521   8.708  1.00 18.56
+            ATOM    437  CZ  ARG A  55      44.471 -26.619  10.181  1.00  8.51
+            ATOM    436  NE  ARG A  55      44.334 -27.346  11.290  1.00  9.05
+            ATOM    438  NH1 ARG A  55      43.590 -26.751   9.179  1.00 13.17
+            ENDMDL
+
     .. versionadded:: 0.4.0
        Equality, hashing and pickle protocol support.
 
@@ -1581,8 +2264,8 @@ cdef class Jess:
         double distance_cutoff,
         double max_dynamic_distance,
         *,
-        int max_candidates = 1000,
-        bint ignore_chain = False,
+        object max_candidates = None,
+        object ignore_chain = None,
         bint best_match = False,
         bint reorder = True,
     ):
@@ -1599,15 +2282,35 @@ cdef class Jess:
                 dynamic distance after adding the global distance cutoff
                 and the individual atom distance cutoff defined for each
                 atom of the template.
-            ignore_chain (`bool`): Whether to check or ignore the chain of
-                the atoms to match.
+            max_candidates (`int` or `None`): The maximum number of candidate
+                hits to report by template. If a non-`None` value is given,
+                it may speed up querying for unspecific templates, but also
+                produce results potentially inconsistent with Jess.
+            ignore_chain (`str` or `None`): Whether to check or ignore the
+                chain of the atoms to match. The different supported modes
+                are:
+
+                - `None`: Force the atoms in the molecule to belong
+                  to different (resp. same) chains if so is the case
+                  in the template.
+                - ``residues``: Allow atoms to belong to different
+                  (resp. same) chains even if it is not the case in
+                  the template, but force all atoms of a residue to
+                  belong to the same chain.
+                - ``atoms``: Allow atoms to belong to any chain,
+                  independently to the template or the residue they
+                  belong to.
+
             best_match (`bool`): Pass `True` to return only the best match
-                to each template.
+                to each template, based on RMSD. In case of ties, the
+                first match is returned. Note that a match must still
+                be passing the RMSD threshold given in ``rmsd_threshold``
+                to be returned.
             reorder (`bool`): Whether to enable template atom reordering
-                to accelerate matching in the scanner algorithm. Pass 
+                to accelerate matching in the scanner algorithm. Pass
                 `False` to reverse to the original, slower algorithm
                 which matches atoms in the same order as they appear in
-                the template, at the cost
+                the template, at the cost of longer run times.
 
         Returns:
             `~pyjess.Query`: An iterator over the query hits.
@@ -1615,19 +2318,45 @@ cdef class Jess:
         Caution:
             Since ``v0.6.0``, this function uses an optimized variant of
             the Jess scanning algorithm which minimized the number of steps
-            needed to generate matches, by re-ordering the order the 
+            needed to generate matches, by re-ordering the order the
             template atoms are iterated upon. Because of this change,
-            the query may return *exactly* the same matches but in an order 
+            the query may return *exactly* the same matches but in an order
             that *differs* from the original Jess version. If you really
             need results in the original order, set ``reorder`` to `False`.
 
         .. versionadded:: 0.6.0
             The ``reorder`` argument, defaulting to `True`.
 
+        .. versionchanged:: 0.7.0
+            Default value of ``max_candidates`` argument to `None`.
+
+        .. versionchanged:: 0.7.0
+            ``ignore_chain`` now expects string variants rather than `bool`.
+
         """
+
+        if ignore_chain is True:
+            PyErr_WarnEx(
+                DeprecationWarning,
+                "`ignore_chain` parameter expects string parameters "
+                "to specificy the mode since PyJess v0.7.0. "
+                "Use `ignore_chain='atoms'` instead of `ignore_chain=True`",
+                2,
+            )
+            ignore_chain="atoms"
+        elif ignore_chain is False:
+            PyErr_WarnEx(
+                DeprecationWarning,
+                "`ignore_chain` parameter expects string parameters "
+                "to specificy the mode since PyJess v0.7.0. "
+                "Use `ignore_chain=None` instead of `ignore_chain=False`",
+                2,
+            )
+            ignore_chain=None
+
         cdef Query query = Query.__new__(Query)
-        query.ignore_chain = ignore_chain
         query.max_candidates = max_candidates
+        query.ignore_chain = ignore_chain
         query.rmsd_threshold = rmsd_threshold
         query.best_match = best_match
         query.molecule = molecule