Re: Mark IV reduction pipeline -- not quite ready yet

["Glenn Gombert" <glenngombert@hotmail.com>]

Hi Michael,

  Yes I will be glad too:))...I just ordered a a new version of Linux from 
LSL (Lynix Systems Labs)..and will be happy to..as soon as I am able to get 
a system up and running in the new few days...can't wait to try it out...


Glenn G.


>From: Stupendous Man <richmond@a188-l009.rit.edu>
>To: tass@listserv.wwa.com
>Subject: Mark IV reduction pipeline -- not quite ready yet
>Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2001 18:41:51 -0500
>
>   I've been working for the past few months on a pipeline for
>turning a CD-Rom of Mark IV images into a small set of ASCII
>text files with measured stellar positions and magnitudes.
>It's _almost_ to the point that I can run it through without
>intervention, but there are a couple of steps where I have to do
>a little hand-editing of some intermediate files.  The astrometric
>calibration step fails for some images, too -- this might require
>just a bit of parameter-tuning, or it might require some additional
>information (or more accurate information) be written into the
>FITS header of the raw images.
>
>   Anyway, I want to make the software available to others.
>Even if no one else can make it work, it is certainly helping
>me to document the software properly.
>
>   As a first step, I have tried to gather together information on
>the 5 different packages which go into the pipeline.  What I've
>done is to build upon some "legacy" software I've written in the
>past, using the TCL language to glue pieces together.  It's not
>an ideal way to create a product for other people to use, but it
>was less work for me ... so, I did it.  Now, perhaps, I'll find out
>if it's any use to anyone else.
>
>   What I'd like interested parties to do is to try to download one
>or more of the packages, and tell me
>
>         a) could you download the package?
>         b) could you un-gzip and un-tar the package?
>         c) could you compile and build the package?
>
>   Only one of the pieces (the "match" package) has a self-test built
>into it, alas.  So it won't be obvious if the software will run
>properly on your system, even if it does compile and link.  But
>I'll bet you can help me to find errors and warnings in the process
>of trying to build the software, so I can fix them.
>
>   If you're interested, it will take a computer running Linux or
>some *nix-like operating system, with an ANSI C compiler.  One
>of the packages uses the X Window system for a small fraction of
>its programs.  Another package uses a open-source mathematical
>library called "ccmath", which until this afternoon was available
>via Freshmeat.org (but its homepage has disappeared since then,
>it appears -- temporarily, I hope).
>
>   You can find my first attempt at instructions for acquiring
>the 5 packages at
>
>        http://spiff.rit.edu/tass/pipeline/pipeline.html
>
>   This URL points to a document which will _eventually_ describe
>how to run the pipeline; at the moment, that portion isn't written.
>But the first part of the document, which describes the auxiliary
>packages and where to get them, _is_ written.  I am looking for
>feedback on that part alone, right now.
>
>   In a few weeks, I may finish writing the part which describes
>how to run the pipeline.  I'd like to also create a small subset
>of one of Tom's Mark IV disks, and
>
>         a) use that subset to test my instructions on how to run
>                  the pipeline
>         b) create some kind of "self-test" package based on this
>                  data, which would allow other users to verify
>                  that the entire pipeline runs properly on their
>                  systems
>
>   Part a) won't take so long, I think.  Part b) is more ambitious.
>But it's part of the eventual goal.
>
>   The HTML documentation for several of the packages occasionally
>states,
>
>         " ... the current version has obvious problems here.
>           These problems will be fixed in a future version ..."
>
>   I welcome all constructive criticism :-)
>
>                                       Michael Richmond
>
>

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