IDL, the Interactive Data Language, is software for data analysis, visualization, and cross-platform application development. IDL combines tools for projects ranging from "quick-look," interactive analysis and display to large-scale commercial programming projects in an easy-to-use, fully extensible environment.
The University has 40 floating network licenses for IDL on the following platforms: Sun Solaris, SGI IRIX, IBM AIX, Linux, Compaq Tru64 Unix, and HP-UX, Windows (98/NT/2000/XP), and Macintosh. In addition to the standard IDL environment functionality, the University has 10 floating network licenses for the IDL Wavelet Toolkit on the same platforms. Note that ITC does not support the Compaq Tru64 Unix and HP-UX Unix platforms.
IDL users at the University can also run IDL from home computers using the floating network licenses by first establishing an internet connection through an Internet Service Provider (ISP) so that the local IDL installation can communicate with the license manager on ITC's Unix server. Please note that use of IDL from off-grounds locations requires either the UVa Anywhere VPN client (Windows and Mac OSX) or ssh tunneling (Linux or other Unix).
Upgrade Announcement
Announcement concerning the most recent upgrade of IDL. Especially note the information about installing PDF manuals.IDL Functional Summary
A listing of the functionality available within IDL.
Access from Unix Platforms
Access From Unix Platforms
The system requirements for running IDL on any Unix platform can be found in the Installation Guide referenced below.1. The filesystem /common should be mounted from the Unix server jeeves.itc.virginia.edu to the Unix platforms (Sun Solaris, SGI IRIX, IBM AIX, Linux) that you are logged into. This is done by default on all ITC maintained Unix machines. We recommend that on-Grounds Linux users mount licensed software over NFS. The extra time required to start the program over the network is inconsequential, and once the executable is read into the local machine's memory, it runs at the same speed as if it were installed locally. ITC provides instructions for mounting from jeeves at http://www.itc.virginia.edu/desktop/linux/mount.html. If the Linux machine has the firewall enabled, as most do, then add the following line
-A UVAfw -s 128.143.2.26/32 -j ACCEPTnear the end of your iptables configuration file (/etc/sysconfig/iptables on RedHat and Fedora systems). This line tells the firewall to accept all packets from jeeves. ITC's recommended iptables configuration is described at http://www.itc.virginia.edu/unix/sec/linux-iptables.html. Note that when you make changes to the iptables configuration file, you must either restart iptables or reboot.IDL can also be installed locally on a Unix machine instead of mounting the filesystem from the Unix server, although the local copy would still have to communicate with the IDL license manager server. In addition, our license for IDL includes support for Compaq Tru64 Unix and HP-UX although ITC does not support these Unix platforms and they are not available on jeeves.itc. Users wishing to install IDL locally on any of the unsupported Unix platforms listed above should go to the Alderman library to obtain a free copy on CDROM. For installation instructions, please refer to the appropriate section for Unix in the PDF Installation Guide. The required license.dat file can be downloaded from the licensing database. Your system must communicate with the license manager specified in the license.dat file in order for the full functionality of IDL to be available. In order to do this from off Grounds, it will be necessary to use ssh tunneling.
You should have the full license file downloaded to your computer before you begin the installation. We recommend that when you complete the installation, you should copy the license.dat file to some name such as license.full, then edit the license.dat file. Find the lines beginning SERVER, and delete everything below the last such line. (Leave the SERVER lines exactly as they are.) Then replace everything you just deleted with the single line
USE_SERVER
Make sure that the lines are all distinct, i.e. each SERVER line is on a separate line and the USE_SERVER line is also a separate line, and there are no extra characters at the end. This may require some editing depending upon your operating system. (Windows, Mac, and Unix have different conventions for marking the end of a line, but only one version of the license file is provided, usually for Windows.)Making these changes should preclude the need to update the license file on your local installation every time ITC changes the master file due to a new version or to the yearly renewal. You will need the full license file again if you upgrade the software, however.
2. Use a text editor to modify the .cshrc (C shell or tcsh) or .profile (Korn shell or bash) to contain the following lines so that the IDL setup will be done automatically upon login. Then logout and relogin.
For C-shell:3. Running IDL (/uva/bin should be part of your PATH variable by default).For K-shell (note period at beginnning):source /uva/bin/idl_setup. /uva/bin/idl_setup.kshStart IDL Development Environment:Start IDL w/o motif graphical user interface:idlde4. Running IDL remotelyidlIf you are running IDL on a Unix machine other than the one you originally logged onto (i.e. running it remotely), the DISPLAY environment variable must be set. You can check its value by typing
printenv $DISPLAYIf you have logged in via ssh or slogin you should see a response similar toDISPLAY=machine.remote.virginia.edu:10.0If you do not see this, you should make sure that you have logged in with X11 forwarding enabled. This may require adding an option-Xto your ssh line.Users who wish to install IDL on their PC running Windows 2000/XP can download IDL from the vendor's download page (registration required). Alternatively, users can come to either the Alderman or Brown libraries to borrow a copy on CDROM. It is necessary to obtain a license file from the licensing database regardless of whether the software was downloaded or obtained from the RCSC.
Note that to use one of the floating network licenses, the PC must be connected to the University network either on grounds or through an ISP. Off-grounds use must take place via the UVa Anywhere VPN client.
For installation instructions, please refer to the appropriate section of the Installation Guide. Refer to the section entitled "Configure Clients to Access the License Server" for instructions on licensing IDL. You must download the license.dat file from the licensing database.
You should have the full license file downloaded to your computer before you begin the installation. We recommend that when you complete the installation, you should copy the license.dat file to some name such as license.full, then edit the license.dat file. Find the lines beginning SERVER, and delete everything below the last such line. (Leave the SERVER lines exactly as they are.) Then replace everything you just deleted with the single line
USE_SERVER
Make sure that the lines are all distinct, i.e. each SERVER line is on a separate line and the USE_SERVER line is also a separate line, and there are no extra characters at the end. This may require some editing depending upon your operating system. (Windows, Mac, and Unix have different conventions for marking the end of a line, but only one version of the license file is provided, usually for Windows.)This should preclude the need to update the license file on your local installation every time ITC changes the master file due to a new version or to the yearly renewal. You will need the full license file again if you upgrade the software, however.
IDL can be downloaded from the vendor's download page (registration required). Alternatively, users can come to either the Alderman or Brown libraries to borrow a copy on CDROM. It is necessary to obtain a license file from the licensing database regardless of whether the software was downloaded or obtained from the RCSC.
Note that to use one of the floating network licenses, the Macintosh must be connected to the University network either on grounds or through an ISP. Off-grounds use must take place via the UVa Anywhere VPN client.
To install on OS X 10.3 (Panther) or higher, you must have Apple's X11 software on your system. Note that X11 is not installed by default; a custom installation is required. X11 can also be installed separately by downloading it from Apple's Web site (10.3 and earlier) or by obtaining it from the installation DVD (10.4 and later).
For more detailed installation instructions, please refer to the appropriate section of the Installation Guide. Refer to the section on licensing IDL for UNIX and Macintosh" for instructions on how to license IDL. The required license.dat file can be downloaded from the licensing database.
You should have the full license file downloaded to your computer before you begin the installation. We recommend that when you complete the installation, you copy the license.dat file to some name such as license.full, then edit the license.dat file. Find the lines beginning SERVER, and delete everything below the last such line. (Leave the SERVER lines exactly as they are.) Then replace everything you just deleted with the single line
USE_SERVER
Make sure that the lines are all distinct, i.e. each SERVER line is on a separate line and the USE_SERVER line is also a separate line, and there are no extra characters at the end. This may require some editing depending upon your operating system. (Windows, Mac, and Unix have different conventions for marking the end of a line, but only one version of the license file is provided, usually for Windows.)This should preclude the need to update the license file on your local installation every time ITC changes the master file due to a new version or to the yearly renewal. You will need the full license file again if you upgrade the software, however.
Getting Help with IDL
The IDL Online Help can be accessed from the Help menu in the IDL Development Environment or by typing a ? at the IDL prompt, e.g. IDL> ?. It provides documentation of IDL procedures, functions, and keywords, and information on the status of the IDL environment. The Online help can also be invoked outside the IDL environment.
On Windows, select Start -> Programs -> Research Systems IDL 6.3 -> IDL Help.All manuals for IDL can also be accessed online.From Unix and Mac OS X, execute the following at the Unix prompt:
idlhelpOn Windows, select Start -> Programs -> Research Systems IDL 6.0 -> IDL Online Manuals.On Unix and Mac OS X, execute the following at the Unix prompt:
idlmanBoth the IDL Online Help and IDL Online Manuals contain a Getting Started with IDL (reproduced here in PDF format) which describes the basics of IDL as well as contains tutorials that teach IDL concepts and techniques.
ITC's license for IDL allows for only one person at the University (a member of the ITC Research Computing Support Group) to contact Research Systems Inc., the maker of IDL, concerning technical problems. If users cannot find the answers to their questions in the online documentation, they can refer questions to ITC Research Computing Support.
Frequent Questions about IDL
Local FAQ
Frequently asked (or interesting) questions about IDL the have been submitted to ITC.IDL Tech Tips
A listing of technical tips specifically related to IDL.
IDL Examples
The IDL Demo Applications are a series of programs written in the IDL language that demonstrate some of the ways IDL can help to visualize data. They can be accessed from within the IDL environment by typing demo at the IDL prompt, i.e. IDL> demo. The IDL Demo Applications can also be invoked outside the IDL environment.
On Windows, select Start -> Programs -> Research Systems IDL 6.0 -> IDL Demo.On Unix, execute the following at the Unix prompt:
idldemoIDL also comes with many built-in examples such as source code and examples files. These can be found in the /rsi-directory/examples directory where rsi-directory is the directory where IDL is installed. On the Unix platforms mounting from jeeves.itc.virginia.edu, this directory is /common/rsi/idl_6.0.
RSI provides some examples of how IDL has been used in various industial/research applications, along with other information for users, at their PDF library page.
Other Resources
Research Systems Inc.
The homepage of RSI, the maker of IDL, as well as related visualization products.
RSI User-Contributed Library
Library for sharing code, images, data, and even technical white papers with other members of the RSI software community.Coyote's Guide to IDL Programming
A site with a wealth of information about IDL, tips, and links.IDL Newsgroup
Newsgroup devoted to issues involving use of IDL.
IDL and PV-Wave Newsgroup
Newsgroup devoted to issues involving use of IDL and PV-Wave.