<p>Based on the requirement that all results produced by the LTP Data Analysis software must be
	easily reproducible as well as fully traceable, the idea of implementing analysis objects (AO) as
	they are described in S2-AEI-TN-3037 arose.</p>

  <p>An analysis object contains all information necessary to be able to reproduce a given result. For 
	example
	<ul>
 		<li>which raw data was involved (date, channel, time segment, time of retrieval if data can be 
	        changed later by new downlinks)</li>
  	    <li>all operations performed on the data</li>
		<li>the above for all channels of a multi-channel plot</li>
	</ul>		
  </p>
  <p>The AO will therefore hold
	<ul>
 		<li>the numerical data belonging to the result</li>
		<li>the full processing history needed to reproduce the numerical result</li>
	</ul>
  </p>

  <p>The majority of algorithms in the LTPDA Toolbox will operate on AOs only (these are always	methods 
  of the AO class) but there are also utility functions which do not take AOs as inputs, as well as methods
  of other classes. Functions in the toolbox are designed to be as simple and elementary as 
	possible. </p>