M. Plum

Visual physics analysis VISPA

VISPA is a development environment for high energy physics analyses which enables physicists to combine graphical and textual work. A physics analysis cycle consists of prototyping, performing, and verifying the analysis. The main feature of VISPA is a multipurpose window for visual steering of analysis steps, creation of analysis templates, and browsing physics event data at different steps of an analysis. VISPA follows an experiment-independent approach and incorporates various tools for steering and controlling required in a typical analysis. Connection to different frameworks of high energy physics experiments is achieved by using different types of interfaces. We present the look-and-feel for an example physics analysis at the LHC and explain the underlying software concepts of VISPA.

VISPA: A novel concept for visual physics analysis

VISPA is a novel graphical development environment for physics analysis, following an experiment-independent approach. It introduces a new way of steering a physics data analysis, combining graphical and textual programming. The purpose is to speed up the design of an analysis, and to facilitate its control. As the software basis for VISPA the C++ toolkit Physics eXtension Library (PXL) is used which is a successor project of the Physics Analysis eXpert (PAX) package. The most prominent features of this toolkit are the management of relations, a copyable container holding different aspects of physics events, the ability to store arbitrary user data, and a fast I/O. In order to support modular physics analysis, VISPA provides a module handling system using the above mentioned event container as the interface. Several analysis modules are provided, e.g. a module for automated reconstruction of particle cascades. All modules can be steered through Python scripts. Physicists can easily write their own modules to the module handling system or extend the existing ones. In this paper the concept of VISPA will be presented.

A novel environment for Visual Physics Analysis (VISPA)

VISPA is a novel development environment for high energy physics analyses, based on a combination of graphical and textual steering. The primary aim of VISPA is to support physicists in prototyping, performing, and verifying a data analysis of any complexity. We present example screenshots, and describe the underlying software concepts.