3.1.13 GetIdx

virtual unsigned int GetIdx() const

Return the atom index of an atom. This value is assigned by OEChem when an atom is created. The atom index is unique for the atoms of a given molecule, and is stable (not reused) for the lifetime of that OEMolBase. These values may not be assigned sequentially, and may contain gaps. Atom indices are guaranteed to be less than OEMolBase::GetMaxAtomIdx. Atom indices are typically only used for efficiently storing data in arrays (or vectors) externally to the OEMolBase. They arrays can be conveniently indexed via OEAtomBase::GetIdx(). For iterating across the atoms of a molecule, use OEMolBase::GetAtoms() and for keeping track of a particular atom use an OEAtomBase*.