/*
 * Project: MoleCuilder
 * Description: creates and alters molecular systems
 * Copyright (C)  2010 University of Bonn. All rights reserved.
 * Please see the LICENSE file or "Copyright notice" in builder.cpp for details.
 */

/**
 * \file atoms.dox
 *
 * Created on: Oct 31, 2011
 *    Author: heber
 */

/**
 * \page atoms Atoms
 *
 * Atoms are the central ingredient. They store the following information:
 * - position, velocity, and force (over multiple time steps)
 * - element
 * - bond neighbours (over multiple time steps)
 * - id
 *
 * \section atoms-structure
 *
 * The atom class has quite a complicated structure because an atoms has to
 * fulfill various roles within this code:
 * - atom
 * - TesselPoint for Tesselation
 * - Graph node for BondGraph
 * - bonded particle
 *
 * There is an onion structure where additional information has been added
 * as the layers of an onion via inheritance.
 *
 * We briefly want to explain the various elements of the inheritance
 * - AtomObservable - contains notification channels enumeration and also all
 *  interface function required by the Observable pattern.
 * - AtomInfo - contains position, element and so on.
 * - ParticleInfo - contains name and number of the atom
 * - BondedParticle - contains all functions related to bonds
 * - BondedParticleInfo - contains all member variables related to storing bond
 *   information
 * - GraphNode - contains all functions related to graphs
 * - GraphNodeInfo - contains all member variables for graph information
 * - TesselPoint - contains functions for considering the atom as a TesselPoint
 *   in Tesselation (\ref tesselation)
 *
 * Member variables and functions have been split into class with and without
 * added \a ...Info. ...Info classes that are required multiple times are
 * inherited as virtual to guarantee that their members are unique (exist
 * only once) within an instance.
 *
 * \note Atoms have a sort-of early serialization concept (\ref serialization)
 * as AtomicInfo. \todo This could be refactored into a full serialization
 * compatible implementation.
 *
 *
 * \date 2011-10-31
 */