Home »
Public Forums »
archive »
Re : Q: Who knows IDL ?
| Re : Q: Who knows IDL ? [message #4285] |
Wed, 17 May 1995 00:00 |
wally
Messages: 3
Registered: February 1994
|
Junior Member |
|
|
sterner@tesla.jhuapl.edu writes
Loops are no problem if you can do enough processing each time
through a loop. Before starting a major project some time ago
we were trying to decide what language to use, C or IDL. Some C
software existed to do a needed job and I was challenged to do the
same job in IDL. I wanted to use IDL and was told that if the
processing time was within a factor of 2 or so then IDL could be
used. The C code was by a good C programmer. Unexpectedly my
IDL software was about twice as fast as the C. Some excuse was
offered (can't remember exactly what it was) but I pointed out that
the excuse would not have been mentioned if the C code had been
faster. Development time is much faster with IDL. I have done
both FORTRAN and C in the past but have no real need for them
any longer (I know some applications do require them).
It's nice to know that a well written IDL program can be faster than
the corresponding C program, but on the projects I've been on speed
wasn't the most important concern. Getting the system developed
and debugged was always the biggest problem. In that area, IDL really
excels though systems like Turbo C for the PC are terrific for
development and debugging also. IMHO the real challenge with IDL is
creating maintainable code.
--
------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------
Wally Gross phone : 301-286-6690
Code 971 Bldg. 22 Room 335 fax : 301-286-0240
Goddard Space Flight Center e-mail : wally@halfhalt.gsfc.nasa.gov
Greenbelt, MD 20771
|
|
|
|
Current Time: Wed Oct 08 17:25:49 PDT 2025
Total time taken to generate the page: 0.00475 seconds
comp.lang.idl-pvwave archive
Members
Search
Help
Login
Home
