Core Technologies
=================

Python
++++++

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Python is a programming language that is becoming increasingly popular for
scientific use.

`Python Homepage <https://www.python.org/>`_

For those new to Python, we recommend the book 
`Effective Computation in Physics <http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920033424.do>`_,
an excellent primer in scientific Python that starts from the very beginning.

IPython
+++++++

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IPython is a powerful interactive command prompt, developed by physicists
for scientific computing. At NSLS-II, we use our data collection packages
from inside an IPython session. There, we can also retrieve, export, and
analyze data.

`IPython Homepage <http://ipython.org/>`_

Jupyter (formerly, IPython notebooks)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

.. image:: _static/jupyter-logo.png
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Jupyter notebooks (formerly, IPython notebooks) allow users to interact with a
Python process from a web browser. They are a useful new tool for collaboration
and reproducible science.

`Jupyter Homepage <http://jupyter.org/>`_

Conda
+++++

.. image:: _static/anaconda-logo.png
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Conda is an package manager (i.e., installer). It support "virtual
environments," making it easy to switch between different versions and
combinations of software packages.

It is a free product from Continuum Analytics. At NSLS-II, we use it to
distribute all our collection and analysis software.

`Conda Cheat Sheet <http://conda.pydata.org/docs/_downloads/conda-cheatsheet.pdf>`_

`Full Documentation <http://conda.pydata.org/docs/>`_

MongoDB
+++++++

.. image:: _static/mongodb-logo.jpg
   :width: 80px
   :align: right

MongoDB is an open-source document database designed for ease of
development and scaling. It supports rich search capability and flexible
document specification, which is ideal for scientific workflows.
At NSLS-II, we store all experiment metadata and "small" data
(i.e., not images) in MongoDB.

`MongoDB Homepage <https://www.mongodb.org/>`_