Objective statements about candidate products

ROOT:

1) ROOT is a complete, full-featured package that meets the functional requirements

2) There are some trivial unacceptable features (use of CMZ, lack of build scripts) which should

not be a stumbling block, but will require a formal collaboration with the ROOT team

3) There is a large, world-wide user base, but so far limited use for serious HEP analysis

4) ROOT can cope with the CDF and D0 data models

5) ROOT has an effective internal data format well matched to HEP needs

6) The present version of CINT is a potential serious drawback (buggy, undocumented, limited

C++ features, hard to support, poorly engineered). This will require a decision to

enhance/upgrade/replace, which could require significant work.

7) the user interface is not very friendly

8) The interconnectedness of the various modules is substantial. External modules must conform

to (proprietary non-standard) ROOT protocols to be functional.

9) The package is not highly engineered (ie, it has grown organically rather than been designed).

The current implementation reflects this evolution, for example, it has not kept up with the

C++ language standard (has its own container classes, etc.)

10) It will require some relatively straightforward customization to support casual users

11) There is an active and responsive support team with good archives and an active mailing list

NIRVANA:

1) NIRVANA could become the core of a full package that meets the functional requirements, but it

is not there yet.

2) It has excellent plotting facilities and GUI.

3) It is a well-engineered package, highly modular.

4) The proposed full featured NIRVANA adopts a sound strategy of relying on standards and

distinct components, each with their own support (like PYTHON) to provide plug and play capability

5) We would have complete control of NIRVANA development

6) There is no large user community for existing components, and only limited use outside FNAL

7) A minimum of 6-12 months would be required to include the scripting language, overall framework,

and HEP specific features

8) There will be no experience with the full version of NIRVANA before the start of run II.