Databases post-processing in Tensoral

The Center for Turbulent Research (CTR) post-processing effort aims to make turbulence simulations and data more readily and usefully available to the research and industrial communities. The Tensoral language, introduced in this document and currently existing in prototype form, is the foundation of this effort. Tensoral provides a convenient and powerful protocol to connect users who wish to analyze fluids databases with the authors who generate them. In this document we introduce Tensoral and its prototype implementation in the form of a user's guide. This guide focuses on use of Tensoral for post-processing turbulence databases. The corresponding document - the Tensoral 'author's guide' - which focuses on how authors can make databases available to users via the Tensoral system - is currently unwritten. Section 1 of this user's guide defines Tensoral's basic notions: we explain the class of problems at hand and how Tensoral abstracts them. Section 2 defines Tensoral syntax for mathematical expressions. Section 3 shows how these expressions make up Tensoral statements. Section 4 shows how Tensoral statements and expressions are embedded into other computer languages (such as C or Vectoral) to make Tensoral programs. We conclude with a complete example program.