At one time, computational chemistry techniques were used only by experts extremely experienced in using tools that were for the most part di½cult to understand and apply. Today, advances in software have produced programs that are easily used by any chemist. Along with new software comes new literature on the subject. There are now books that describe the fundamental principles of computational chemistry at almost any level of detail. A number of books also exist that explain how to apply computational chemistry tech- niques to simple calculations appropriate for student assignments. There are, in addition, many detailed research papers on advanced topics that are intended to be read only.
