idlastro

Miscellaneous (Non-Astronomy) Procedures

ASTROLIBAdd the non-standard system variables used in the IDL Astronomy User's Library
BLKSHIFTShift a block of data to a new (possibly overlapping) position in a file
BOOST_ARRAYAppend one array onto another, adjusting dimensions if necessary
BREAK_PATHbreak up a !PATH-like string into individual directories
BSORTLike the IDL SORT function but subscript order is maintained when value are equal -- like a bubble sort.
CHECKSUM32Compute the 32bit checksum of an array (ones-complement arithmetic)
CIRRANGEForce an angle to be in the range 0 to 360 (or 0 to 2*!PI).
CONCAT_DIRconcatenate directory and file name for current OS
DELVARXDelete an IDL variable; like DELVAR but works at any calling level
DETABIFYReplace tabs in a character string by equivalent number of spaces
EXPAND_TILDEExpand tilde in UNIX directory names
F_FORMATFind the "best" F format to display an array of REAL*4 numbers.
FDECOMPDecompose a file name (Disk + Directory + Name + Extension + Version)
FILE_LAUNCHLaunch a file using default application of the operating system
FINDPROFind all occurrences of a procedure in one's !PATH
FIND_ALL_DIRFind all directories under a specified directory
FIND_WITH_DEFSearch for files with default path and extension
FORPRINTPrint a set of vectors by looping over each index value
GET_PIPE_FILESIZEDetermine the number of bytes in a unit opened as a pipe with SPAWN
GETOPTParse a user supplied string into numeric value(s).
GETPROSearch !PATH directory for a procedure and copy into user's directory
GETTOKExtract a string up to a specified character.
HGREPFind a substring in a FITS header or other string array
HOST_TO_IEEEConvert IDL variable from host machine bit order to IEEE
HPRINTPretty terminal display of a FITS header (or other string array)
IEEE_TO_HOSTConvert IDL variable from IEEE bit order to host machine
ISARRAYDetermine if an IDL variable is an array (in /jhuapl)
IS_IEEE_BIGDetermine if the host machine is IEEE big endian
LIST_WITH_PATHSearch for files within specified directory path
MAKE_2DChange from 1-D indexing to 2-D indexing
MATCHFind the subscripts where the values of two vectors match.
MATCH2Find the matches for each element of two arrays.
MRD_SKIPSkip a number of bytes from current location in a file or a Unix pipe
MINMAXReturn the min and max of an array in an 2 element vector
N_BYTESReturn the number of bytes in an IDL variable
NINTLike intrinsic ROUND() function but returns integer instead of long
NULLTRIMDelete all characters after, and including, the the first null byte(0). Called by TAB_PUT.
ONE_ARROWDraw an arrow labeled with a single character
ONE_RAYDraw a ray by specifying starting point, angle, and length
ORDINALReturn the English equivalent of ordinal numbers, i.e. '1st','2nd'
QGET_STRINGRead a string (eg. password) from the keyboard without echoing it
RDFLOATQuickly read an ASCII file with columns of data into IDL vectors
READCOLRead a file of free-format ASCII columns into IDL vectors
READFMTQuickly read a file of fixed-format ASCII columns into IDL vectors
READ_KEYLike GET_KBRD but returns a code for escape sequences.
REMCHARRemove all appearances of a character from a string.
REM_DUPRemove duplicate values from a vector.
REMOVEContract a vector or up to 8 vectors by removing specified elements
REPCHRReplace all occurrences of one character by another (in /jhuapl)
REPSTRReplace all occurrences of one substring in a string by another.
SELECT_WAllow user to interactively select from a list of strings
SPEC_DIRComplete specification of a file name using default disk & directory
STORE_ARRAYInsert one array into another, adjusting dimensions if necessary
STRCOMPRESS2Remove blanks around specified spaces in a string
STRNConvert a number to a string and remove padded blanks.
STRNUMBERDetermine whether a string is a valid numeric value.
TEXTOPENOpen a file for text output as specified by TEXTOUT keyword
TEXTCLOSEClose a file that had been opened by TEXTOPEN.
TO_HEXTranslate a decimal integer to a hex string.
VALID_NUMDetermine if a string is a valid number (cf. STRNUMBER)
VECTDisplay a set of numbers to a string with delimiters
WHERENANFind points equal to big-endian IEEE NaN (not a number) values
XDISPSTRWidget display of a string array with a simple search facility
ZPARCHECKCheck the type and size of a parameter