Monthly Archives: July 2012

The command line and the Workbench

Posted on July 26, 2012 by

There are two primary ways of using IDL: the command line (CLI*) and the Workbench (WB). The CLI allows direct access to the IDL interpreter. The WB is a separate program that sits on top of IDL and provides a slew … Continue reading →

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Testing parameters with N_ELEMENTS and !null

Posted on July 19, 2012 by

The N_ELEMENTS function is typically used to test whether an input parameter has data. For example, here’s a program that doubles a number: function double_it, x compile_opt idl2 on_error, 2 if n_elements(x) eq 0 then $ message, ‘Need input number … Continue reading →

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Sandia National Labs visit

Posted on July 16, 2012 by

I’ll be at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque this Wednesday, July 18, to give a talk on using IDL 8. The talk is scheduled for 9-11 am in Bldg. 960, Rm. 1001B. If you’re at the lab, please join us!

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Updates to the MAPGRID function

Posted on July 12, 2012 by

Prior to IDL 8.2, the labels used on the graticule produced by MAPGRID were hardcoded (e.g., 30oE or 15oS). Now, with the LABEL_FORMAT property, you can provide a callback function to create labels with custom formatting. Also, through the LATITUDES and … Continue reading →

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(New) Graphics Erase method

Posted on July 5, 2012 by

Here’s a small, but worthy, addition to IDL in 8.2: NG now has an Erase method, analogous to the ERASE procedure in DG. For example, a window with a plot and an annotation: IDL> w = window(window_title=’Reuse this window!’) IDL> … Continue reading →

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