In addition, each program can have an input and output channel which is connected to a UNIX pipe instead of a disk-file. Since many programs transform one dataset into another, this allows for efficient chaining to build new tools. On top of this file-structure, a number of packages have been defined. The most important one is snapshot , on which NEMO was originally based. Subsequently images , tables , and orbits were introduced, with a number of programs that convert data between them.
Programs can use a dynamic loader in order to compile, load, and run user-specific code.
This supports very flexible and powerful analysis tools. For example, in orbit integration, a user-defined potential can be used to integrate and analyze orbits. And for snapshots, arbitrary user-defined expressions are used for many analysis and plotting programs. Documentation Extensive on-line help is present on three levels. First of all, each program comes with a dynamic inline help, which can remind the user of the keywords, their default values, and a small one line description of each keyword.