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description: Messages from Usenet group comp.lang.idl-pvwave, compiled by Paulo Penteado
items: Re: IDL 4.0.1, best way to deal with missing/bad data

Re: IDL 4.0.1, best way to deal with missing/bad data
type: item
description: : >The question comes as to the best way to handle missing/bad data : >within IDL. By handle I mean don't use the data in computations, and : >don't plot it. I can think of three ways: : There is another way - use the IDL WHERE() function and the capability to : subscript and array with another. : read, data, flag : good = where(flag eq 0) : data = data(good) : plot, data Don't forget to test whether there is any good data at all! If there isn't, then WHERE returns -1, which will break the data(good) array subscript. Of course, for some this is not a problem, but maybe I have worse data than others, and this caught me out at first. Rob. -- Robert Bunting E-mail: robert@aurora.york.ac.uk Space Geophysics Group Tel:(+44)1904-432277 Dept of Physics, University of York, Fax:(+44)1904-432214 York YO1 5DD U.K. WWW: http://aurora.york.ac.uk/
creator: robert
date: 1996-02-12T08:00:00-00:00

Re: IDL 4.0.1, best way to deal with missing/bad data
type: item
description: In article <c2gvilgp29e.fsf@toe.CS.Berkeley.EDU>, rfinch@toe.CS.Berkeley.EDU (Ralph Finch) writes: > IDL 4.0.1, Solaris. > > The question comes as to the best way to handle missing/bad data > within IDL. By handle I mean don't use the data in computations, and > don't plot it. I can think of three ways: There is another way - use the IDL WHERE() function and the capability to subscript and array with another. read, data, flag good = where(flag eq 0) data = data(good) plot, data ____________________________________________________________ Mark Rivers (312) 702-2279 (office) CARS (312) 702-9951 (secretary) Univ. of Chicago (312) 702-5454 (FAX) 5640 S. Ellis Ave. (708) 922-0499 (home) Chicago, IL 60637 rivers@cars3.uchicago.edu (Internet)
creator: rivers
date: 1996-02-12T08:00:00-00:00

Re: IDL 4.0.1, best way to deal with missing/bad data
type: item
description: >> The question comes as to the best way to handle missing/bad data >> within IDL. By handle I mean don't use the data in computations, and >> don't plot it. I can think of three ways: Mark> There is another way - use the IDL WHERE() function and the capability to Mark> subscript and array with another. Mark> read, data, flag Mark> good = where(flag eq 0) Mark> data = data(good) Mark> plot, data This doesn't fully do what I need, because the resulting plot doesn't show gaps where missing data was, as we need here. I've talked to RSI about this problem; they think that the next release, all computational routines will recognize missing data with the /NAN keyword, so all you have to do is replace your missing values with NANs. For now I guess I will use the following construct: a = [1, 2, 3, !VALUES.F_NAN] result = computation(where(a(finite(a) eq 1))) Of course, the where command doesn't fail gracefully so I'll have to have a check above to make sure there are any good values. Note to RSI: how about introducing the null matrix (like MATLAB), so that we don't have to have a separate WHERE test? In other words, instead of: good_ndx=where(a eq good_val, count) if count gt 0 then result=computation(a(good_ndx)) just use: result=computation(a(where(a eq good_val))) and if the WHERE returns null, it fails silently, and result is simply a null vector or matrix too. -- "Nada burra la chamaca." A.G. Opinions expressed are mine, not my employer or news host. rfinch@toe.cs.berkeley.edu
creator: rfinch
date: 1996-02-14T08:00:00-00:00