Concepts

This section is a set of mental models for using SPICE through tspice.

If you’re new here, read these in order:

• tspice mental model
• Time systems
• Frames
• Aberration corrections
• Kernel taxonomy

For hands-on setup and usage, see the Guide.

Big picture

flowchart LR Kernels[SPICE kernels] -->|loaded into| Pool[Kernel pool + loaded-kernel table] Pool --> Backend[Backend (node addon / wasm)] Backend --> Raw[raw: CSPICE-shaped API] Raw --> Kit[kit: ergonomic helpers] Kit --> Apps[Apps / scripts] subgraph tspice Backend Raw Kit end

A recurring theme in these pages: SPICE is stateful. Loaded kernels, time conversion defaults, and some other settings live in global (or effectively-global) state. tspice tries to make this easy to manage, but you still need to be aware of it.