Language/OS - Multiplatform Resource Library/LANGUAGE OS.iso/ast_text/faqs/idl-faq

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From: [e-mail] (patrick m. ryan)
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Subject: IDL (Interactive Data Language) FAQ
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Summary: Frequently-asked questions about the Interactive Data Language (IDL).
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Archive-name: idl-faq
Last-modified: 1993/06/17
Version: $Id: idl-faq,v 1.5 1993/06/17 19:34:13 pat Exp pat $


This is a list of Frequently Asked Questions about the Interactive Data
Language or IDL.  These questions pop up fairly regularly in the newsgroup
comp.lang.idl-pvwave.  This list is an attempt to cut down on net.traffic
regarding commonly asked questions.  Users are encouraged to read through
this list before posting a query to the newsgroup.

[SPECIAL NOTE: As of this writing, the editor has not gotten his hands on
 IDL 3.1.  Bug reports and questions about IDL 3.1 are especially welcome
 at this time. ]

  A Note from the editor about PV~WAVE:

  I do not have any direct experience with PV~WAVE.  As such, I will try to
  minimize comments which appear to favor one package or the other.  I
  will, however, welcome concise descriptions of technical and functional
  differences between the two packages.

If you are viewing this text in a GNU Emacs Buffer, you can type
"M-2 C-x $" to get an overview of just the questions.  Then, when you want
to look at the text of the answers, just type "C-x $".


  The following questions are answered:

  G01.    What is IDL?
  G02.    Where can I contact them?
  G03.    How do I get IDL?
  G04.    What is the current version of IDL?
  G05.    On what systems does IDL run?
  G06.    What is PV~WAVE and how is it related to IDL?
  G07.    Are there anonymous FTP sites for IDL?
  G08.    How can I get help?
  G09.    Why are there two newsgroups for IDL?
  G10.    Does anyone at RSI read this group?  Is anyone there listening?
  G11.    When is the next version of IDL due out?
  T01.    Why doesn't polycontour fill open contours?
  T02.    How do I increase the number of commands stored in the
  T03.    How do I get IDL to call routines in language X, running
  T04.    Why does XPALETTE edit my color table incorrectly?
  T05.    Is there on-line help for IDL?
  T06.    I run IDL under X in SunOS 4.x, and after I logout, the screen
  T07.    Sometimes my variables seem to disappear.  Why is this?
  T08.    Is there a major mode for editing IDL code in Emacs?
  T09.    How do I get 3-D widgets under OpenLook 3.0?
  T10.    Why does one of the widgets appear red under OpenWindows?
  T11.    Where are all the IDL routines and userlib procedures?
  T12.    Does anybody know how to put multiple image plots on one page in
  T13.    Does case matter in IDL?
  T14.    How do I set up IDL to get precise control over plot window
    and text positioning with either portrait or landscape page
    orientation on a PostScript or HP-GL printer?
  T15.    I get the error message "Code Area Full".  What do I do?


============================================================
GENERAL:


G01.    What is IDL?

    IDL is the Interactive Data Language.  It is is a product of
  Research Systems, Inc. (RSI).

  The following is quoted from the README file at rsinc.com:/pub/idl/README.
  As such, it describes IDL's capabilities in an understandably subjective
  manner.  ;-)

  {begin quote}
      IDL, Interactive Data analysis Language, is a
  complete package for the interactive reduction, analysis,
  and visualization of scientific data and images.  Optimized
  for the workstation environment, IDL integrates a responsive
  array oriented language with numerous data analysis methods
  and an extensive variety of two and three dimensional
  displays into a powerful tool for researchers.

    IDL supports an extensive data import capability,
  publication quality hard copy output, and user-defined Motif
  graphical user interfaces.

    Users can create complex visualizations in hours
  instead of weeks with the aid of IDL's high level capabilities
  and interactive environment.

    IDL is useful in physics, astronomy, image and
  signal processing, mapping, medical imaging, statistics,
  and other technical disciplines requiring visualization of
  large amounts of data.
  {end quote}

  Here is a short history of RSI:
      [attributed to [e-mail] (Ali Bahrami)]

  {begin quote}
    IDL is a product of Research Systems, Inc., founded in 1977
    by David Stern. The origins of IDL were developed at the Laboratory
    for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University
    of Colorado. David was one of the people involved in efforts to
    make computers easier to use for the physicists at the Lab.
    The first program in the evolutionary chain to IDL was named Rufus
    (named after Dave's dog). Rufus was a very simple vector oriented
    calculator that ran on the PDP-12. It accepted 2 letter codes that
    specified (1) An arithmetic operation (2) The input registers to
    serve as operands, and (3) the destination register. The next version
    was the Mars Mariner Spectrum Editor (MMED) which was a version
    of Rufus that ran on the PDP-8.

    The next program in this line was named SOL, and it also ran on
    the PDP-8. Unlike its predecessors, SOL was a real computer language
    with a real syntax (no more 2 letter codes). It was an APL influenced
    array oriented language with some primitive graphics capabilities.
    The resemblance to IDL was there, but very faintly.

    In 1977, Dave left LASP to start Research Systems Inc. (RSI) with the
    intention of building on the ideas contained in SOL. The initial
    result of this endeavor was PDP-11 IDL, which was much more capable than
    SOL. Graphics was usually done on Tektronix terminals and outboard
    raster graphics displays. I used this version at LASP in 1981 on a
    PDP11/34 under RSX-11M in 1981 (I worked as a student at LASP from
    1981 to 1987). I didn't use it for very long though,
    because 1981 was the year that Dave released the VAX/VMS version of
    IDL. This version, which was written in VAX-11 MACRO and FORTRAN,
    took advantage of the VAX virtual memory and 32-bit address space,
    and was a huge step beyond the PDP-11 version. It used essentially
    the same sort of graphics hardware as the PDP-11.

    In 1987, Dave decided that Unix workstations were the direction in
    which IDL should progress, but porting the current VAX IDL to Unix
    didn't make much sense because of its MACRO and FORTRAN implementation.
    I had just finished my Masters degree and was looking for work.
    Dave hired me and together we wrote the current version of IDL for
    Unix on the Sun 3 taking advantage of the re-write to extend and
    improve the language. Since then, we've ported it to many Unix
    machines and moved it back to VMS. RSI has many other employees now,
    but our focus is still the continued development of IDL. Recently,
    IDL was ported to PC class systems running Microsoft Windows.
  {end quote}


G02.    Where can I contact them?

    Their address is:

    Research Systems, Inc.
    777 29th Street, Suite 300
    Boulder, CO 80303
    [phone]      (Voice)

    Email:
        [e-mail] or [e-mail]         # Internet
        ORION::IDL                                  # SPAN


G03.    How do I get IDL?

    RSI's distribution scheme is unique in that all of the binaries and
  IDL you need are available via anonymous ftp.  IDL binaries and code are
  available at these sites:

    gateway.rsinc.com (192.5.156.17)
        pub/idl
    boulder.colorado.edu (128.138.240.1)
        pub/idl
    lumpi.informatik.uni-dortmund.de (129.217.36.140)
        pub/idl

  The README file describes which files are needed, how to unpack them, and
  how to install them.
    If you install IDL without a valid license, you will get IDL's 7
  minute demo mode.  This mode is designed for users who are considering
  buying the package.
    To actually get IDL running for good, you must pay for a license
  from RSI and follow their instructions.  You will be asked to fill out a
  form with information unique to your machine.  RSI will create a license
  key which the license manager program (lmgrd) reads to validate your
  license.
    As of release 3.1, upgrades to IDL are no longer free.  For details
  about upgrades and support contracts, contact RSI.


G04.    What is the current version of IDL?

    IDL 3.1.0 is the current version.  It was released June 6, 1993.
  There is no word about when future releases are expected.


G05.    On what systems does IDL run?

    The information below is from the file RELEASE_LEVEL located at
  rsinc.com:/pub/idl/RELEASE_LEVEL.  Ths information applies to release
  3.1.

  {begin quote}
  This release supports the following systems:

    - Convex C2 and C3: ConvexOS 10.0.5.
    - Data General Aviion: DG/UX 5.4.1 and later
    - DEC ALPHA: OSF1 1.2.
    - DOS based personal computers running Microsoft Windows 3.1 or later
    - HP 9000: HP-UX 8.0 on Series 300, 400 and 700.
    - IBM 6000: AIX 3.2.
    - MIPS: Risc/OS 4.52B.
    - Risc Ultrix: Ultrix 4.2.
    - SGI: IRIX 4.0
    - Sun 3: SunOS 4.1.1. Widgets are built using OpenWindows 2.0.
    - Sun 4 (sparc):
          [SunOS 4.1.0] Widgets are built using OpenWindows 3.0.
          [SunOS 5.1 (Solaris 2.1)] Widgets are built using
             OpenWindows 3.1.
    - VMS:
          [ALPHA] OpenVMS AXP 1.0.
          [VAX] VMS 5.1 and up. Standard X windows graphics are
        supported at all VMS versions. IDLwidgets are supported
            at VMS 5.4-3 at up *if* the host system has the
        DECWINDOWS-MOTIF package installed.


  The following hardware/operating system combinations are no longer
  supported. The last release of these versions have been archived, and no
  future development for them will be done:

    - Sun 3 running SunOS 3.5 (last release: 2.0.4).
    - Sun 386i running SunOS 4.0.1 (last release: 2.0.4).
    - Sun 3 and Sun 4 running SunOS 4.0 (last release: 2.2.1)
    - HP 9000 series 300 and 400 running HP-UX 7.0
      (last release: 2.2.2)
    - VAX Ultrix (last release: 2.2.2)
  {end quote}

G06.    What is PV~WAVE and how is it related to IDL?

    Around the time that the Unix version of IDL first became available
  (1988), Precision  Visuals Inc. (PVI) entered into an agreement with RSI
  under which they enhanced and resold IDL under the name PV~WAVE. In
  September of 1990, they exercised an option in that agreement that
  resulted in the following:

    - They received a copy of the IDL source code as it existed in
  September 1990 in return for a one-time payment to RSI.

    - The connection between RSI and PVI was severed.

    IDL and PV~WAVE are now on separate development tracks. Each
  company enhances, supports, and maintains its own product.

    PVI has since merged with IMSL and is now Visual Numerics, Inc.
  (VNI).


G07.    Are there anonymous FTP sites for IDL?

  The sites below contain public domain IDL code.

    JHU/APL IDL library
    fermi.jhuapl.edu [128.244.147.14]
        /pub/idl-pvwave/jhuapl

    NASA IDL Astronomy User's Library
    idlastro.gsfc.nasa.gov [128.183.57.82]
        /

    IUE RDAF library
    iuesn1.gsfc.nasa.gov [128.183.57.16]
    cetus.colorado.edu [128.138.238.151]
        /pub

    ICUR Spectral Analysis Software
    ftp.astro.psu.edu [128.118.147.28]
        /pub/nefftp/icur

    IDL ROSAT software
    rosserv.gsfc.nasa.gov [128.183.8.43]
        /pub/IDL

    IDLmeteo library
    ftp.sma.ch (141.249.3.33)
        /pub/idlmeteo

G08.    How can I get help?

    RSI has excellent telephone and email support.  You can contact
  them at:

    [phone]      (Voice)
    [phone]      (Fax)

        Email:
        [e-mail] or [e-mail]         # Internet
        ORION::IDL                                  # SPAN

  Keep in mind, however, that their phone support is for their paying
  customers.


G09.    Why are there two newsgroups for IDL?

    Unfortunately, there are two very different packages with the
  abbreviation "IDL".  The newsgroup comp.lang.idl is for the Interface
  Description Language.  The newsgroup for discussing issues related to
  RSI's IDL and VNI's PV~WAVE and IMSL/IDL is comp.lang.idl-pvwave.


G10.    Does anyone at RSI read this group?  Is anyone there listening?

    [ This question was included at the request of RSI.  The answer was
      provided by Ali Bahrami. -pat ]

    {begin quote}
    Yes, many of us do. We're naturally curious what people think of
    our product. We make notes about what people like and dislike and
    this influences our decisions.

        However, you usually won't get a direct response from us from
        a posting to this group. There are many reasons for this.
        Here are a couple of the more important ones:

          [] We believe that this group should belong solely to the
             user community, and should be free of vendor bias and
             marketing. It should be noted that both RSI and Visual
             Numerics (formerly PVI) have shown great restraint in this
             matter, and that this group is largely left to the actual
             users. (Long term readers will recall some notable exceptions
             to this, but in general it is true.)

             It could be argued that as long as the topic stays
             technical, vendor postings are OK. The problem with this
             is that one persons technical posting is another's
             blatant product plug, and the line between them is not
             always obvious.

           [] We provide support for our customers via the phone and email.
             If you would like an answer from us, you should
             call us directly. We have no objection to you sharing the
             information you get in this manner with the newsgroup as
             long as you quote us accurately and separate fact from
             conjecture.

        In other words, you should view this newsgroup as a way to share
        questions and information with other users, not as a way to
        contact the vendor.
    {end quote}

G11.    When is the next version of IDL due out?

    IDL 3.1 was release in June, 1993.  There is no word as to when the
  next release is expected


============================================================
TECHNICAL QUESTIONS:

Note for Sun users:

There is a mini FAQ for Sun IDL in $IDL_DIR/notes, and the following
questions are answered in the file openwin3.doc:
(1) IDL complains about missing fonts when creating widgets.
(2) IDL complains about missing bitmap files when creating widgets.
(3) How to make IDL work with OpenWindows version 3.0.
(4) 3-D appearance for OpenLook IDLwidgets.
(5) Why does one of the widgets appear red?
(6) Why does pressing the left button while pointing at a pulldown menu
button cause the menu to pop up with the pushpin in?  Older versions of IDL
didn't to that.
(7) The font used by the list widget is much larger than it used to be, and
I don't like the result on my program.
(8) Why do I get "Cannot allocate colormap entry" errors, and why do they
kill IDL?
(9) I've changed my .Xdefaults file, but nothing different happened. Why?


T01.    Why doesn't polycontour fill open contours?

    This problem is described in the POLYCONTOUR manual page.

  {begin quote}
  RESTRICTIONS:
    This routine will NOT draw open contours.  To eliminate open
    contours in your dataset, surround the original array with a 1-element
    border on all sides.  The border should be set to a value less than
    or equal to the minimum data array value.

    For example, if A is an (N,M) array enter:

        B = REPLICATE(MIN(A), N+2, M+2)    ;Make background
        B(1,1) = A            ;Insert original data
        CONTOUR, B, PATH=Filename ...    ;Create the contour file.
  {end quote}

  [ This problem was fixed in IDL 3.1. ]

T02.    How do I increase the number of commands stored in the
history buffer?

    The system variable !EDIT_INPUT controls command recall.  By
  default, it is set to 1, causing the last 20 commands to be saved.  If it
  is 0, no commands are saved.  To save more than 20 commands, just put
  !EDIT_INPUT=50 (or other large number) in your startup file.

    It is important to realize that IDL looks at the value of
  !EDIT_INPUT the first time it reads anything from the keyboard, and the
  size of the history buffer is fixed after that. Hence, the command must
  be in a startup file because entering it at the keyboard is too late.


T03.    How do I get IDL to call routines in language X, running
under system Y?

    Jeff Valenti has written a sizable document about calling external
  FORTRAN routines from IDL.  You can find it at
  jaameri.gsfc.nasa.gov:/pub/idl/idl-fortran.


T04.    Why does XPALETTE edit my color table incorrectly?

    Here is the answer from RSI support:

  {begin quote}
  The color applications such as xpalette and xloadct use a common block
  called "colors" to keep track of the color vectors.  When you call tvlct,
  your vectors are loaded into the colormap, but they are not put into the
  colors common block.

  When xpalette starts, it checks to see if the colors have been defined in
  the common block and uses them if they have.  Otherwise it sets them to
  the standard black and white colormap, in which r,g,b are each linear
  ramps. (The colors are as you expect because there is only one colormap.)

  Admittedly, this is not the most desirable situation.  You would like
  your colors which you loaded with TVLCT to be recognized by xpalette.  We
  modified xpalette (and xloadct) to use the current colormap when they
  start up by getting the current vectors with TVLCT.

  Another alternative would be to use the following lines to define the
  common block prior to calling your current version of xpalette.

  [ assume here that you have a routine called "restore" which reads colors
    from a file somewhere and creates vectors r, g, and b.  -pat ]

  IDL> restore, file='ryan.sav', r, g, b   ;get the vectors from somewhere
  IDL> tvlct, r, g, b
  IDL> common colors, r_orig, g_orig, b_orig, r_curr, g_curr, b_curr
  IDL> r_orig = r & r_curr = r
  IDL> g_orig = g & g_curr = g
  IDL> b_orig = b & b_curr = b
  IDL> xpalette

  {end quote}

T05.    Is there on-line help for IDL?

    Try ?.

T06.    I run IDL under X in SunOS 4.x, and after I logout, the screen
becomes completely blank.  Typing in login names and passwords 'blindly'
logs you in again with the 'correct' colors.  How to prevent this?

  [Note: This is only a problem under OpenWindows2. -pat ]

    Add the following to your .Xdefaults:

  Idl*colors:    -5

  which reserves some colors for the colormap so that IDL does not exhaust
  all the available colors.  (For a nice summary of Sun IDL interactions
  with OpenWindows, see $IDL_DIR/notes/openwin3.doc)

    Another solution is to put a call to clear_colormap in your .login
  file to be executed after OpenWindows start up.


T07.    Sometimes my variables seem to disappear.  Why is this?

  Quoting the IDL User's Guide, page 10-8:

  {begin quote}
  IDL users may find that all their variables have seemingly disappeared
  after an error occurs inside a procedure or function.  The misunderstood
  subtlety is that after the error occurs, IDL's context is inside the called
  procedure, not in the main level.  Typing RETALL or RETURN will make the
  lost variables reappear.

  RETALL is best suited for use when an error is detected in a procedure and
  it is desired to return immediately to the main program level despite
  nested procedure calls.  RETALL issues RETURN commands until the main
  program level is reached.

  The HELP command can be used to see the current call stack (i.e., which
  program unit IDL is in and which program unit called it).
  {end quote}


T08.    Is there a major mode for editing IDL code in Emacs?

    No and yes.
    VNI has developed a PV~WAVE major mode, which they have made
  available under the FSF copyleft.  Given the (remaining) strong similarity
  between PV~WAVE and IDL, it has many of the features that one would like
  in such a mode.
      It is available by anonymous ftp from ftp.pvi.com (128.138.213.22) in
  the ./PVI/emacs directory

  [ wave-mode.el seems to work pretty well.  Be warned, however, that it is
    a memory hog and it will do a lot of garbage-collection. -pat ]


T09.    How do I get 3-D widgets under OpenLook 3.0?

   This subject is discussed on page 53 of the OpenWindows Version 3
   User's Guide Release Manual.

   OpenWindows 3.0 added 3-D appearance for widgets. In order for
   the 3-D look to work, it must be enabled and the background color
   must be a medium tone color such as "grey" or "wheat".
   Add the following resources to your ~/.Xdefaults file:

    For plain IDL:

        Idl*threeD:     TRUE
        Idl*background: PeachPuff2

    For IMSL/IDL:
        Imslidl*threeD:     TRUE
        Imslidl*background: PeachPuff2

T10.    Why does one of the widgets appear red under OpenWindows?

   This subject is discussed on page 53 of the OpenWindows Version 3
   User's Guide Release Manual.

   The OLIT widget toolkit, which is used by IDL, added the
   concept of "mouseless focus" under version 3.0. The red widget
   indicates where the current mouseless focus is. Use the arrow keys
   to traverse the widgets, and the spacebar to make a selection.

T11.    Where are all the IDL routines and userlib procedures?

  The basic routines are not accessible, for obvious reasons.  The userlib,
  statlib and widget procedures are in $IDL_DIR/lib/.  The procedure XDL also
  displays the full pathname.  The system variable !path also contains the
  directory names for all accessible IDL procedures.

T12.    Does anybody know how to put multiple image plots on one page in
PostScript?

  Because PostScript has scalable pixels, you must specify the xsize and
  ysize parameters, as well as the position parameter, in TV or TVSCL.
  I don't know about PV-Wave, but the following works in IDL:

  ; Display four images in a 2x2 grid
  ; Assume data(x,y,4) = array containing the 4 images

  set_plot, 'ps'           ;request PostScript output
  device, ...              ;modify page size, orientation, etc. as desired
  ximsize = 0.5*!d.x_size  ;define output image size
  yimsize = 0.5*!d.y_size  ;note: 0.5 assumes 2x2 grid
  for i=0,3 do begin       ;display the 4 images, using i as position index
     tv, data(*,*,i), i, xsize=ximsize, ysize=yimsize
  endfor

T13.    Does case matter in IDL?

      No.
      Compiled routines are case insensitive.  The only catch is that, on
  Unix systems, when executing a script via the .RUN command, the file name
  argument must exactly match the file name as it appears on the disk.
  Once the routines in the script are compiled, their names can be written
  in any case.  This is not a problem in operating systems such as VMS that
  do not distinguish case for file names.  This is usually not a problem
  under Unix either since, by convention, most people use lower case file
  names.


T14.    How do I set up IDL to get precise control over plot window
and text positioning with either portrait or landscape page orientation
on a PostScript or HP-GL printer?


  (This answer only applies to PostScript and HP-GL printers --
  other printers may differ in having the X and Y offsets measured from
  the upper left corner of the portrait page instead of the lower left
  corner.)

  IDL uses portrait page orientation as a default.  (The x axis is along
  the shorter dimension of the paper.)  In portrait orientation the lower
  left corner of the page is the origin for the XOFFSET and YOFFSET page
  offsetting keywords of the DEVICE command that determine the origin
  (lower left corner) of the output window.  (Normally one uses XOFFSET=0
  and YOFFSET=0 for portrait orientation.)  Size of the output window is
  determined by the XSIZE and YSIZE keywords of the DEVICE command.
  The origin for graph positioning variables !P.POSITION and !P.REGION
  is the output window origin.  X and Y coordinates for portrait page
  orientation are shown on the sketch below as upper case X and Y.


                ----------
                |        |   ORIGINAL PORTRAIT PAGE  (Printer only prints on
              Y |        |         OUTPUT WINDOW                  this area.)
                |        |
                |   X    |
                o-----------
                |    y   + |   OUTPUT WINDOW ROTATED ABOUT LOWER LEFT CORNER
              x |        + |
                |        + |
                ------------
                ++++++++++    OUTPUT WINDOW RESIZED FOR LANDSCAPE ORIENTATION
                     ^
                     |    DIRECTION OF NEEDED OFFSET


  If device,/landscape is specified, then the output window is rotated
  90 deg. clockwise about the lower left corner of the page.
  In this condition nothing will be plotted on the page, since the
  rotation has carried the output window entirely off the paper as shown
  in the sketch above.  To correct this mismatch, the rotated output window
  must be offset.  XOFFSET AND YOFFSET are still measured in the X and Y
  coordinates of the portrait page, but now represent the position of the
  lower left corner of the rotated (and resized) output window (marked by
  an o above) with respect to the lower left corner of the portrait (actual)
  page.  Hence, one generally uses XOFFSET=0 and
  YOFFSET=long_dimension_of_page for landscape orientation.

  In landscape orientation, the coordinates for graph positioning variables
  !P.POSITION and !P.REGION are the lower case x and y coordinates
  shown in the sketch above and having origin marked by the letter o.
  Position of output window origin o on the page is, of course, affected
  by the setting of XOFFSET and YOFFSET, as explained before.  The XSIZE
  and YSIZE (output window size) keywords of the DEVICE command are also
  measured in the x and y directions when in landscape orientation.  The
  resizing of the landscape page generally means interchanging the values
  of XSIZE and YSIZE appropriate for the portrait page.


  Example of settings for a portrait page:

  XPAGE=8.5  &  YPAGE=11.  &  XOFFS=0.  &  YOFFS=0.  ;Inches
  DEVICE,/INCHES,XSIZE=XPAGE,YSIZE=YPAGE,XOFFSET=XOFFS,YOFFSET=YOFFS

  Example of settings for a landscape page:

  XPAGE=11.  &  YPAGE=8.5  &  XOFFS=0.  &  YOFFS=XPAGE  ;Inches
  DEVICE,/LANDSCAPE,/INCHES,XSIZE=XPAGE,YSIZE=YPAGE,XOFFSET=XOFFS, $
       YOFFSET=YOFFS

  Example of setting position and size of a plot window:

  X0=1.374  &  Y0=1.283  &  XLEN=3.622  &  YLEN=6.157  ;Inches
  !P.POSITION=[X0/XPAGE,Y0/YPAGE,(X0+XLEN)/XPAGE,(Y0+YLEN)/YPAGE]

  Example of setting position and orientation of a text string:

  x0=.35  &  y0=.37  ;Inches
  xyouts,x0/xpage,y0/ypage,!stime,orient=90,/normal     ;Date, time


T15.     I get the error message "Code Area Full".  What do I do?

  IDL sets aside a certain amount of memory area for compiling programs.  The
  current code and area sizes can be seen with the HELP command, e.g.

        IDL> help
        % At $MAIN$  .
        Code area used: 0% (0/16384),  Symbol area used: 0% (2/4096)

  These sizes can be increased with the .SIZE command.  Quoting the IDL User's
  Manual, page 2-11:

  {begin quote}
  These sizes represent a compromise between an unlimited program space and
  conservation of memory.  User procedures and functions are compiled in this
  large program area.  After successful compilation, a new memory are of the
  required size is allocated to contain the newly compiled program unit.

  Resizing the code and data areas erases the currently compiled main program
  and all mail program variables.  For example, to extend the code and data
  areas to 30000 and 5000 bytes respectively:

                        .SIZE 30000 5000
  {end quote}

  Getting "Code Area Full" is often an indication that the routine is
  large, and would benefit by decomposition into sub-procedures/functions.
  It's better to avoid use of .SIZE because your code will always work on
  other systems where the users don't use a large .SIZE setting.


T16.    Sometimes I get the following error message:

% Unable to allocate memory: to make array.
 not enough core

  RSI support replies:

  {begin quote}
  The circumstances described happen when memory becomes fragmented.
  Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do except use less memory in your
  application, or get more for the system to work with.
  {end quote}


============================================================

  Disclaimer:

  I do not work for RSI and I am in no way answerable to them.  Questions and
  answers in this document are culled from the user community.  No warranty,
  express or implied exists regarding this document.  Permission to copy all
  or part of this work is granted, provided that the copies are not made or
  distributed for resale.

This file can always be found at jaameri.gsfc.nasa.gov [128.183.88.75]
in pub/idl/idl-faq.  A URL entry for this file would look like:

file://jaameri.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/idl/idl-faq

  Additions and corrections should be sent to:

      [e-mail]

  -----
    Many thanks to the following for their contributions.

    [e-mail] (John Black)
    [e-mail] (Scott Claflin)
    [e-mail] (David Edelsohn)
    [e-mail] (Gwyn Fireman)
    [e-mail] (Joseph B. Gurman)
    [e-mail] (JF Pitot de La Beaujardiere)
    [e-mail] (Vinay Kashyap)
    [e-mail] (Shane Mayor)
    [e-mail] (Thomas Oettli)
    [e-mail] (Robert M. Moss)
    [e-mail] (Philip Sterne)
    [e-mail] (William Thompson)
    [e-mail] (Jeff Valenti)


  --
                                                             patrick m. ryan
     nasa / goddard space flight center / oceans and ice branch / hughes stx
               [e-mail] / [e-mail]