| Re: IDL Help Gone Missing [message #27278] |
Wed, 17 October 2001 08:24 |
Pavel A. Romashkin
Messages: 531
Registered: November 2000
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Senior Member |
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What do you mean, you ran your beta without the documentation?! Now
that's bad :-(
BTW, I heard that some of the nice 5.5 features were not implemented for
the Mac Classic becasue they were expected to be implemented in the OSX,
which is being... um... held back? Or how do you put it politely?
Pavel
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| Re: IDL Help Gone Missing [message #27282 is a reply to message #27278] |
Wed, 17 October 2001 07:52  |
thompson
Messages: 584
Registered: August 1991
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Senior Member |
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"Richard G. French" <rfrench@wellesley.edu> writes:
> At least you got a CD! I've just learned today that both the Mac and
> Alpha versions are now dead - I got e-mail from RSI about the
> demise of the Mac, but they did not inform me of the demise
> of the Alpha. Has anyone else gotten official word that the Alpha
> version is dead? We've invested a lot in these systems!
> Does anyone want to place a bet on what platform is going to be
> the most secure for IDL, or is it a question of slow attrition?
> I want to avoid Linux - too many patches to be applied every few
> minutes - and we can't do our work on Windows - so what flavor
> of Unix box is likely to have IDL on it in five years? Any
> advice?
> Dick French
I am also extremely upset that support has been dropped from Alpha computers,
which is what I'm using right now to post this message. I don't use Macs, but
I also found them dropping that platform extremely disturbing.
When I write software, it is not meant to be run simply on our own platform,
but also for the worldwide solar physics community. A big advantage of IDL has
been that it will run on all the platforms that are in use within this
community. I wasn't too upset about RSI dropping VMS, even though that
platform is still used by some solar physics projects. VMS is obviously dead,
and the VMS sites I'm aware of had frozen themselves to older versions of IDL
even before that announcement, because of backwards compatibility concerns.
However, Alpha workstations are still used by a significant part of this
community, and will be for some years to come. As RSI keeps dropping
platforms, we as a community will have to consider very carefully whether IDL
still meets our needs, or should we move to something which we have more
control over.
I particularly didn't appreciate RSI making this announcement just after I put
in a maintenance contract for a whole bunch of alpha workstations. Do you
think they intentionally waited until after the new government fiscal year
began?
In conclusion, I think dropping Alphas was a very short-sighted decision. I
intend to write a letter to RSI in the very near future.
William Thompson
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are my own, and do not represent NASA
or any other organization.
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| Re: IDL Help Gone Missing [message #27287 is a reply to message #27282] |
Wed, 17 October 2001 03:59 |
stevens
Messages: 7
Registered: July 1995
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Junior Member |
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In <9qji5k$o16$1@rook.le.ac.uk>, Nigel Wade:
[Snip...]
> You're worried about a few patches for Linux?
> Patches are fine, install them if you need them. Ignore them if you don't.
Thank you for injecting some rational considered insight into this. I've
listened to this impatient bashing of Linux (or FreeBSD, etc.), for what
is nothing, compared to proprietary alternatives. It is in my experience
one of the most prompt, reasonable, and effective tool maintenance paths
I've ever used in 30+ years of this stuff.
As you said, folks need to either just do it (with Open Source, if those
means suit them), or forget it, and get on with their lives. If it's got
nothing to do with securing their system or avoiding crashes just forget
about it. I've helped run a webserver/email system on 32 MB RAM P133 for
nearly five years of Linux now, installing exactly two patches on it.
(Full disclosure: doesn't include complete system rebuild over a weekend
after a system disk hardware crash)
[Snip...]
--
Regards, Weird (Harold Stevens) * IMPORTANT EMAIL INFO FOLLOWS *
Pardon the bogus email domain (dseg etc.) in place for spambots.
Stevens at sc45[.]rsc{period}raytheon(dot)com. *DO NOT SPAM IT.*
Standard Disclaimer: These are my opinions not Raytheon Company.
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| Re: IDL Help Gone Missing [message #27289 is a reply to message #27287] |
Wed, 17 October 2001 02:14 |
Nigel Wade
Messages: 286
Registered: March 1998
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Senior Member |
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Richard G. French wrote:
> I want to avoid Linux - too many patches to be applied every few
> minutes
You're worried about a few patches for Linux?
Patches are fine, install them if you need them. Ignore them if you don't.
The latest features updates for IRIX comes on 3 CDs. They've reached
release 13 of the updates. Or I can download the maintenance release from
the sgi website - it's only 923MB.
Solaris is not much better, their updates only requires 2 CDs (the
equivalent of the latest RedHat full installation).
--
-----------------------------------------------------------
Nigel Wade, System Administrator, Space Plasma Physics Group,
University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK
E-mail : nmw@ion.le.ac.uk
Phone : +44 (0)116 2523568, Fax : +44 (0)116 2523555
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| Re: IDL Help Gone Missing [message #27296 is a reply to message #27289] |
Tue, 16 October 2001 23:27 |
Karsten Rodenacker
Messages: 98
Registered: July 1997
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Member |
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You happy ones in the States. In Germany the distribution of the CD is
planned for February 2002 and temporary keys by mid November 2001! Under
these circumstances the old help file is IMHO neglectable.
Regards
David Fanning schrieb:
> Folks,
>
> Just received my IDL 5.5 CD today. Wonderful!
>
> Whoops! Looks like the technical writers felt
> the same axe as the Mac OSX people. It comes
> with the old IDL 5.4 help files. :-(
>
> Oh, well. That "What's New in IDL 5.5" book
> must be around here somewhere....
>
> Cheers,
>
> David
>
> P.S. Let's just say it doesn't matter. The
> documentation on the new GRIDDATA routine is
> almost enough to fill a small book anyway.
> Better to leave it obscure. :-)
>
> --
> David W. Fanning, Ph.D.
> Fanning Software Consulting
> Phone: 970-221-0438, E-mail: david@dfanning.com
> Coyote's Guide to IDL Programming: http://www.dfanning.com/
> Toll-Free IDL Book Orders: 1-888-461-0155
--
Karsten Rodenacker ()
------------------------------------------------------------ -------------:-)
GSF - Forschungszentrum Institute of Biomathematics and Biometry
D-85758 Oberschleissheim Postfach 11 29
Tel: +49 89 31873401 | FAX: ...3369 | rodena@gsf.de |
Karsten@Rodenacker.de
http://www.gsf.de/ibb/homepages/rodenacker
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| Re: IDL Help Gone Missing [message #27301 is a reply to message #27296] |
Tue, 16 October 2001 20:36 |
Mark Hadfield
Messages: 783
Registered: May 1995
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Senior Member |
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From: "David Fanning" <david@dfanning.com>
> Mark Hadfield (m.hadfield@niwa.cri.nz) writes:
>>
>> "Documentation of new features and enhancements in IDL 5.5 are
>> only included in the "What's New in IDL 5.5" document. Additional
>> information on new features which did not make it into the "What's
>> New in IDL 5.5" manual is found in the "Documentation Errata"
>> section in the release notes file. All other online documentation refers
>> to the IDL 5.4 release..."
>
> The more I've thought about this, the more I've
> thought it was a smart business decision. It gets
> you in the habit of looking for something in more
> than one place. That is a smart habit to get into. :-)
No, we'll just post all our questions on the newsgroup and wait for you, JD,
CM or LG to tell us the answer as before.
---
Mark Hadfield
m.hadfield@niwa.cri.nz http://katipo.niwa.cri.nz/~hadfield
National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research
--
Posted from clam.niwa.cri.nz [202.36.29.1]
via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG
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| Re: IDL Help Gone Missing [message #27304 is a reply to message #27301] |
Tue, 16 October 2001 20:03 |
David Fanning
Messages: 11724
Registered: August 2001
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Senior Member |
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Mark Hadfield (m.hadfield@niwa.cri.nz) writes:
> It's not a bug it's a feature!
>
> To quote from the "RSI IDL 5.5 Upgrade Information" e-mail I received
> yesterday:
>
> "Documentation of new features and enhancements in IDL 5.5 are
> only included in the "What's New in IDL 5.5" document. Additional
> information on new features which did not make it into the "What's
> New in IDL 5.5" manual is found in the "Documentation Errata"
> section in the release notes file. All other online documentation refers
> to the IDL 5.4 release..."
The more I've thought about this, the more I've
thought it was a smart business decision. It gets
you in the habit of looking for something in more
than one place. That is a smart habit to get into. :-)
Cheers,
David
--
David W. Fanning, Ph.D.
Fanning Software Consulting
Phone: 970-221-0438, E-mail: david@dfanning.com
Coyote's Guide to IDL Programming: http://www.dfanning.com/
Toll-Free IDL Book Orders: 1-888-461-0155
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| Re: IDL Help Gone Missing [message #27309 is a reply to message #27304] |
Tue, 16 October 2001 17:08 |
Richard French
Messages: 173
Registered: December 2000
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Senior Member |
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At least you got a CD! I've just learned today that both the Mac and
Alpha versions are now dead - I got e-mail from RSI about the
demise of the Mac, but they did not inform me of the demise
of the Alpha. Has anyone else gotten official word that the Alpha
version is dead? We've invested a lot in these systems!
Does anyone want to place a bet on what platform is going to be
the most secure for IDL, or is it a question of slow attrition?
I want to avoid Linux - too many patches to be applied every few
minutes - and we can't do our work on Windows - so what flavor
of Unix box is likely to have IDL on it in five years? Any
advice?
Dick French
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| Re: IDL Help Gone Missing [message #27310 is a reply to message #27309] |
Tue, 16 October 2001 15:34 |
Mark Hadfield
Messages: 783
Registered: May 1995
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Senior Member |
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From: "JD Smith" <jdsmith@astro.cornell.edu>
> David Fanning wrote:
>> Just received my IDL 5.5 CD today. Wonderful!
>>
>> Whoops! Looks like the technical writers felt
>> the same axe as the Mac OSX people. It comes
>> with the old IDL 5.4 help files. :-(
>
> That's a bit of a bummer, and it's also true under Linux. Too bad I
> spent the time downloading hyperhelp.tar.gz. I'm willing to give them
> the benefit of the doubt and presume this was only a mix-up.
It's not a bug it's a feature!
To quote from the "RSI IDL 5.5 Upgrade Information" e-mail I received
yesterday:
"Documentation of new features and enhancements in IDL 5.5 are
only included in the "What's New in IDL 5.5" document. Additional
information on new features which did not make it into the "What's
New in IDL 5.5" manual is found in the "Documentation Errata"
section in the release notes file. All other online documentation refers
to the IDL 5.4 release..."
---
Mark Hadfield
m.hadfield@niwa.cri.nz http://katipo.niwa.cri.nz/~hadfield
National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research
--
Posted from clam.niwa.cri.nz [202.36.29.1]
via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG
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| Re: IDL Help Gone Missing [message #27311 is a reply to message #27310] |
Tue, 16 October 2001 14:39 |
John-David T. Smith
Messages: 384
Registered: January 2000
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Senior Member |
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David Fanning wrote:
>
> Folks,
>
> Just received my IDL 5.5 CD today. Wonderful!
>
> Whoops! Looks like the technical writers felt
> the same axe as the Mac OSX people. It comes
> with the old IDL 5.4 help files. :-(
>
> Oh, well. That "What's New in IDL 5.5" book
> must be around here somewhere....
>
> Cheers,
>
> David
>
> P.S. Let's just say it doesn't matter. The
> documentation on the new GRIDDATA routine is
> almost enough to fill a small book anyway.
> Better to leave it obscure. :-)
That's a bit of a bummer, and it's also true under Linux. Too bad I
spent the time downloading hyperhelp.tar.gz. I'm willing to give them
the benefit of the doubt and presume this was only a mix-up. Has anyone
checked the PDF version of the help file?
JD
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