Messages from Usenet group comp.lang.idl-pvwave, compiled by Paulo Penteado
Wayne Landsman writes: > Interestingly, I have been just looking for something similar for > HDF-5 files. You can read an HDF5 file into an IDL structure using > a single call to H5_PARSE. But what I haven't found anywhere is > the capablity to write that same structure back to an HDF-5 file > without considerable programming. --Wayne Humm. Interesting, indeed. My client wants a fair amount of information packed into the FITS file, as that is what they are used to. I've been trying to sell HDF as an alternative, since I am more certain about how to get the data out of there. (Simply more experience with it than with FITS.) Here is my situation. I process an image, which results in 24-separate spectra. Each spectra needs to be fit with three separate Gaussians. (I'm waving my hands a bit here, because I haven't figured out how to do this part yet.) I need to save the original image, the processed image, the spectra, and the fitting parameters and other equations. Would you recommend FITS or HDF for such a project? Cheers, David -- David Fanning, Ph.D. Fanning Software Consulting, Inc. Coyote's Guide to IDL Programming: http://www.dfanning.com/ Sepore ma de ni thui. ("Perhaps thou speakest truth.")
> Here is my situation. I process an image, which results > in 24-separate spectra. Each spectra needs to be fit with > three separate Gaussians. (I'm waving my hands a bit here, > because I haven't figured out how to do this part yet.) I need > to save the original image, the processed image, the spectra, > and the fitting parameters and other equations. > > Would you recommend FITS or HDF for such a project? Until someone more qualified than me answers this, here is a link to the FITS standards: http://fits.gsfc.nasa.gov/. You centainly could put all this data in to a FITS binary table using the routines in Wayne's library: http://idlastro.gsfc.nasa.gov/. The process is relatively straghtforward. If you are working with astronomers (I'm guessing here), we do like our FITS files, and have a number of astronomy-specific tools for viewing them already. Back to the OP's question, can't you just use writefits? I work with FITS cubes almost exclusively, and that's what I use for such mapped spectra. writefits adjusts the header appropriately for 3D data. -Loren
Loren Anderson writes: > You centainly could put all this data in to a FITS binary table using > the routines in Wayne's library: http://idlastro.gsfc.nasa.gov/. The > process is relatively straghtforward. If you are working with > astronomers (I'm guessing here), we do like our FITS files, and have a > number of astronomy-specific tools for viewing them already. I'm becoming a big fan of the NASA IDL routines. Every time I use one, I'm impressed all over again with the quality of the code. Have you ever gotten a T-shirt, Wayne, for all your effort? I was called a couple of months ago about my "size," but I'm still waiting. The good folks in Boulder are probably holding on to it until they see what I write about the new IDL Eclipse development environment. :-) Cheers, David P.S. I'm looking forward to the big "preview" of the IDLDE next week in Boulder. Should be exciting. I can't wait to hear what other people think about it. :-) -- David Fanning, Ph.D. Fanning Software Consulting, Inc. Coyote's Guide to IDL Programming: http://www.dfanning.com/ Sepore ma de ni thui. ("Perhaps thou speakest truth.")