Ana (programming language): Difference between revisions

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In contexts of [[solar physics]] and [[data analysis]], '''Ana''' is a computer language that is designed for array processing and image data analysis. The name is an acronym for "A Non Acronym". Ana began as a [[fork (software development)|fork]] of an early version of [[IDL (programming language)|IDL]], but has diverged significantly since then. It is particularly notable for being the only known fork of IDL from its early days as a quasi-open-source software package.

Ana was used as early as 1989 to track [[solar granulation]] using the SOUP instrument on [[Spacelab]]<ref>A.M. Title, T.D. Tarbell, K.P. Topka, S.H. Ferguson, R.A. Shine, and the SOUP Team 1989: "Statistical Properties of Solar Granulation Derived form the SOUP INstrument on Spacelab 2", Astrophysical Journal 336, 475, https://doi.org/10.1086/167026</ref>, and by the late 1990s it was in common use at the [[Lockheed-Martin Space Applications Laboratory]] and at other institutions that analyzed data from the [[TRACE]] spacecraft,; butit was notnever commonly used elsewhereoutside the solar physics community, but represents a significant step forward in data analysis tools in that era. Ana was ultimately used to implement several important data visualization tools that significantly advanced the state of the art, in the late 20th1990s Century-- notably a multispectral image viewer that was used for several space missions including [[SOHO]], [[TRACE]], and [[Hinode]].<ref>N.E. Hurlburt, R.A. Shine, and T.D. Tarbell 1997: "Interactive Interface for Visualizing and Analyzing Multispectral Solar images", Proc. SPIE 3017, doi: https://doi.org/10.111712.270325</ref> Ana appears to have been intended as [[free software]] though it is not distributed under a recognized [[FOSS]] license. It remains available as source code, primarily through the [[Solarsoft]] distribution system.

The most commonly used application written in Ana is the [[TRACE image browser]], which is designed for browsing and viewing time-lapse movies collected by [[TRACE]], [[Solar and Heliospheric Observatory|SOHO]], [[Yohkoh]], and other observatories.