Introduction

This document offers a brief overview of a high-level interface to the psana analysis framework for user applications written in the Python programming language. The interface is informally known as "interactive psana*. The tool's use is not solely limited to the interactive analysis scenarios. It also allows its users to benefit from a rich set of services of the core framework while retaining a full control over an iteration in data sets (runs, files, etc.). This combination makes it possible for the interactive exploration and (if needed) visualization of the experimental data. Note that by the later we always mean data files in the XTC or HDF5 formats produced at the LCLS DAQ or Data Management system. We also suggest visiting the Glossary of Terms which is found in the end of the document.

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