---
title: "Modular Chemical Descriptor Language"
chunk: 1/1
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modular_Chemical_Descriptor_Language"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T12:16:28.536624+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

The Modular Chemical Descriptor Language (MCDL) is a method for representing of molecular structures and pertinent molecular information using linear descriptors. MCDL files are designed for cross-platform transfer and manipulation of compound-specific chemical data. They consist of sets of unique information (fragments, connections) and nonunique information (coordinates, ID numbers, spectra, physical-chemical properties). The nonunique portion of the descriptor can be customized, thus providing end-user flexibility. Unique representation of atom and double bond stereochemistry is contrived as separate modules.


== Software implementation ==
Modular Chemical Descriptor Language is currently implemented in several software packages. A JAVA-based MCDL editor with intelligent generation of 2D coordinates is available as open source software under GPL. MCDL translator is also included in Open Babel starting from version 2.3.1.


== See also ==
Chemical file format


== References ==