Subsections

Using the HEALPix IDL facilities

The current version of the HEALPix package provides an IDL startup file which defines various environment variables for your convenience, and adds the HEALPix IDL directory tree to your IDL_PATH. In order to utilise this feature, the user should invoke IDL using the commands hidl or hidlde which are aliases defined in the HEALPix profile created during the installation process for the package.

Using HEALPix IDL together with other IDL libraries

Many users want to use HEALPix IDL routines at the same time as other (home made or third party) IDL routines. There are several ways to achieve this.

Before starting hidl or hidlde, (re)define the environment variable $IDL_PATH so that it looks like: ``+/path/to/my/idl/routines:+/path/to/other/idl/routines:<IDL_DEFAULT>'' (where <IDL_DEFAULT> should be typed literally and the +/path means that subdirectories of path will be searched recursively). For example, if young Albert types in Bourne shell:
export IDL_PATH=``+/home/aeinstein/brownian:<IDL_DEFAULT>''
hidl
he will start an IDL session in which HEALPix IDL routines and all those located in subdirectories of /home/aeinstein/brownian are accessible.

Using GDL instead of IDL

See the Installation Document for more information on this issue.

Version 3.11, 2013-04-24