The open source project BALL consists of the versatile C++ class framework BALL (Biochemical Algorithms Library), a library of algorithms and data structures targeting molecular modelling and computational structural bioinformatics, a Python interface to this library and the open source graphical interface to BALL, the molecular viewer BALLView (also open source).

The library BALL is supplemented with a Python interface for scripting functionality.
In addition, BALL offers command line utilities.

BALL has been ported to the operating systems Linux, Solaris, Microsoft Windows and MacOS X.
BALL uses Qt as well as OpenGL. BALL has evolved from a commercial product
into a free-of-charge, open source software licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL).

Its molecular viewer BALLView is developed by the ball project team as well and allows for the three-dimensional visualization as well as direct application of the algorithms of the BALL library via its graphical user interface.

BALLView uses OpenGL and the real-time ray tracer RTFact as render back ends.
For both, BALLView offers stereoscopic visualization in several different modes.

BALLView is a C++ application of BALL and is available under the GPL license for Linux, Solaris, Microsoft Windows, and MacOS X.

The BALL project is developed and maintained by groups at Saarland University, Mainz University, and University of Tübingen.
Both the library and the viewer are heavily used for education and research alike. BALL packages have been made available in the Debian project in April 2010.