An account is given of the development of the SHELX system of computer programs from SHELX-76 to the present day. In addition to identifying useful innovations that have come into general use through their implementation in SHELX, a critical analysis is presented of the less-successful features, missed opportunities and desirable improvements for future releases of the software. An attempt is made to understand how a program originally designed for photographic intensity data, punched cards and computers over 10000 times slower than an average modern personal computer has managed to survive for so long. SHELXL is the most widely used program for small-molecule refinement and SHELXS and SHELXD are often employed for structure solution despite the availability of objectively superior programs. SHELXL also finds a niche for the refinement of macromolecules against high-resolution or twinned data; SHELXPRO acts as an interface for macromolecular applications. SHELXC, SHELXD and SHELXE are proving useful for the experimental phasing of macromolecules, especially because they are fast and robust and so are often employed in pipelines for high-throughput phasing. This paper could serve as a general literature citation when one or more of the open-source SHELX programs (and the Bruker AXS version SHELXTL) are employed in the course of a crystal-structure determination.

The improvements in the crystal structure refinement programSHELXLhave been closely coupled with the development and increasing importance of the CIF (Crystallographic Information Framework) format for validating and archiving crystal structures. An important simplification is that now only one file in CIF format (for convenience, referred to simply as `a CIF') containing embedded reflection data andSHELXLinstructions is needed for a complete structure archive; the programSHREDCIFcan be used to extract the .hkl and .ins files required for further refinement withSHELXL. Recent developments inSHELXLfacilitate refinement against neutron diffraction data, the treatment of H atoms, the determination of absolute structure, the input of partial structure factors and the refinement of twinned and disordered structures.SHELXLis available free to academics for the Windows, Linux and Mac OS X operating systems, and is particularly suitable for multiple-core processors.

The new computer programSHELXTemploys a novel dual-space algorithm to solve the phase problem for single-crystal reflection data expanded to the space groupP1. Missing data are taken into account and the resolution extended if necessary. All space groups in the specified Laue group are tested to find which are consistent with theP1 phases. After applying the resulting origin shifts and space-group symmetry, the solutions are subject to further dual-space recycling followed by a peak search and summation of the electron density around each peak. Elements are assigned to give the best fit to the integrated peak densities and if necessary additional elements are considered. An isotropic refinement is followed for non-centrosymmetric space groups by the calculation of a Flack parameter and, if appropriate, inversion of the structure. The structure is assembled to maximize its connectivity and centred optimally in the unit cell.SHELXThas already solved many thousand structures with a high success rate, and is optimized for multiprocessor computers. It is, however, unsuitable for severely disordered and twinned structures because it is based on the assumption that the structure consists of atoms.

The programs SHELXC, SHELXD and SHELXE are designed to provide simple, robust and efficient experimental phasing of macromolecules by the SAD, MAD, SIR, SIRAS and RIP methods and are particularly suitable for use in automated structure-solution pipelines. This paper gives a general account of experimental phasing using these programs and describes the extension of iterative density modification in SHELXE by the inclusion of automated protein main-chain tracing. This gives a good indication as to whether the structure has been solved and enables interpretable maps to be obtained from poorer starting phases. The autotracing algorithm starts with the location of possible seven-residue α-helices and common tripeptides. After extension of these fragments in both directions, various criteria are used to decide whether to accept or reject the resulting poly-Ala traces. Noncrystallographic symmetry (NCS) is applied to the traced fragments, not to the density. Further features are the use of a `no-go' map to prevent the traces from passing through heavy atoms or symmetry elements and a splicing technique to combine the best parts of traces (including those generated by NCS) that partly overlap.

The Collaborative Computational Project No. 4 (CCP4) is a UK-led international collective with a mission to develop, test, distribute and promote software for macromolecular crystallography. The CCP4 suite is a multiplatform collection of programs brought together by familiar execution routines, a set of common libraries and graphical interfaces. The CCP4 suite has experienced several considerable changes since its last reference article, involving new infrastructure, original programs and graphical interfaces. This article, which is intended as a general literature citation for the use of the CCP4 software suite in structure determination, will guide the reader through such transformations, offering a general overview of the new features and outlining future developments. As such, it aims to highlight the individual programs that comprise the suite and to provide the latest references to them for perusal by crystallographers around the world.