IDL Update
--Gail ReichertThere have been a number of changes to the library. New procedures have been added. (See contents.txt in the doc sub directory, or use DOC_LIST.) A specific history of changes/additions can be found in changes.txt. These files can also be found on the GOF anonymous ftp account on legacy, in sub directory rosat/software/idl.
For examples of how to run the routines, see the ROSAT IDL Recipes cookbook. This document is available electronically from the GOF anonymous ftp account on legacy, in sub directory software/idl. To print the cookbook, get all files ending with extension .TEX. Then run LaTeX on the file LX_IDL_RECIPES.TEX. Print the file as usual (e.g., for a postscript printer, use psprint). The cookbook is being updated to reflect the changes and additions to the library.
The most important changes to the library are discussed below:
1. The following procedures have been updated to work with housekeeping and data files in the rationalized (RDF) FITS formats:
MAKE_LIST, MAKE_EMAP, MAKE_EMAP_HDR, RSGET_EMAP_DATA, RSLIVETIME, RSASPECT, RSGETASP, RSEVRATES, RSGETEVR, RSORBIT, RSORB_POS, RSORB_PLOT, RSCHECKTSI, RSGETHKB, RSGETHKSTA, RSGTIMES, RSOBITIMES, RSOBSDATE, RS_NOMASP, RS_SEQINFO, RS_SOURCES
In most cases, this change was made by converting the RS* routines to shell routines calling the corresponding OLD* or RDF* routine, depending on file format. Previous RS* routines were renamed to OLD* (for example, RSGETASP to OLDGETASP, etc.) and new RDF* routines were added.
2. The procedure SCT2UT has been added to allow users to compute UT and modified Julian dates from (corrected) spacecraft clock times.
3. The procedures GET_BFIELD, EXTRAPSHC, FELDC, FELDCOF, FELDG, FELDI, GETSHC, INTERPSHC, READ_IGRF, SHELLG_GETL, and STOER have been added to allow users to calculate quantities related to the Geomagnetic field at the position of the satellite.
4. The procedures RSPROFILE and MAKE_PSF now include the off-axis parameterization for the HRI point response function.
5. RSLIVETIME was changed to include the additional 0.0001 sec dead time per accepted event, which compensates for the removal of all events less than 0.35 ms after a previous event. (This change was made to remove some of the after pulse background.)
6. RS_SOURCES now uses the parameter interface. Writing privileges no longer are required in order to run RS_SOURCES.
7. RSGETEVRnow returns all of the events rates and counters in the ancillary file; the command syntax has been changed and the tag names in the output data structures have been simplified.
8. RSGETASP now returns aspect quality as well as spacecraft attitude, and the name of RSGETASPQU has been changed to OLDGETASPQU.
9. The procedure FIXOBINFO has been added to allow users to fix the OBINFO structure variable when reading data from MPE format ancillary files.
10. ROSATLIB now defines IDL system variables !docdir, !imapdir, and !igrfdir. This change was made to make running certain procedures more transparent at other institutions, and also to allow users to change the defaults within IDL. !docdir, !imapdir, !igrfdir are set to the values of the system logicals/ environmental variables ZDOC, ZIMAP, and ZAUX. The definition of !defdir also was changed, and RSGETDEFPAR was changed to match.
11. Bugs in procedure MAKE_LIST have been fixed.
Please note that the ROSAT IDL procedures have not yet been updated to be compatible with the newest release of the IDL Astronomy Users' Library (04 February 1994).
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