Appendix D: Installing and configuring the PHT Interactive Analysis System

Purpose

The purpose of this chapter is to explain the details of the installation of the PHT Interactive Analysis software on UNIX and to give guidelines for individual configuration.

Prerequisites

The PHT Interactive Analysis requires from PIAV8.0 at least IDL version 5.0 (works also under IDL 5.1 and 5.2). The IDL Astronomy Library has not necessarily to be installed on your system, since the routines used by PIA are ALL compiled together under the distributed savefile. The PHT Interactive Analysis is fully supported under the operating systems: Sun Solaris Version 2.X and DEC Unix (VMS is not further supported). As PIA does only use pure IDL code it is also possible to run it under other UNIX versions (Linux, ULTRIX).

[Users with an IDL runtime license can use PIA as a standalone package (without the IDL environment). The installation has to be performed in the same manner, but an extra package has to be installed. Please see the PIA Homepage for details. ]

Distribution package

The distributed tarfile contains the full PIA installation file system, composed of a central directory and several subdirectories. The installation can be done on an individual account or also systemwide. In the latter case the individual users should copy two files from the installation to their own file systems and change them as specified below.

The central directory contains the following files:

  1. PIA: A UNIX shell script defining the main PIA location and all environment variables (UNIX) needed for setting all the necessary paths, and for starting the PIA package. The environment variables / logical names are divided into a system wide part (localization of the executable file, calibration files directories, etc), and an individual user part (data, print and save directories) which can be redefined by each user (s. pia_envi / pia_logdef.com). Some of these last directories require write access.

  2. Please NOTE that VMS is not further supported. The distribution of a VMS command file PIA.COM does not imply that PIA has been tested under VMS but is only to give the possibility of using it at the user's own (high) risk.
     

  3. pia_envi (UNIX) and pia_logdef.com (VMS): example for user PIA environment variables / logicals setting.
  4. ia_init_sysv.pro: it contains the main IDL initialisation of system variables according to PIA(.com).
  5. pia_start.scr: the IDL startfile for running PIA. Only the default printer definition given here should be changed individually by users.
  6. pia_export.sav (or pia_export_IDL5.1.sav in the IDL5.1/5.2 version): the PIA executable file. No need to be copied to individual users.
and following subdirectories:
  1. calg: all the official PHT-Cal G files containing the calibration parameters used by the data reduction.
  2. calg_not_off: alternative PHT-Cal G files, which are not officially approved.
  3. calu: all the official PHT-Cal U files used for uplinking commands derivation. Not used by the data reduction.
  4. html: the central directory for the html structure, containing all the hypertext help files, images, etc.
  5. help: the IDL help directories containing information on every PIA routine, accessible under the IDL "old" help system ('widget_olh').
  6. incl: all the include files containing common block definitions as used in PIA. They allow direct access from IDL to all the internal PIA buffers.
  7. support: several routines from the IDL astronomical library as used by PIA.

PIA Installation

We divide the installation into a system wide and an individual configuration. It has to be understood that for a 'purely' individual configuration both installation steps have to be followed (while a couple of actions in the second one can be avoided)

System wide installation

  1. uncompress (if necessary) pia_fexp.tar.gz
  2. untar ('tar xvf pia_fexp.tar') the tarfile from a filesystem created for accomodating PIA.
  3. if the ISO products (FITS files) have to be accessed by several users, create a directory for them.
  4. changing the line giving the main PIA directory in the file PIA IS NOT  necessary anymore from V8.0 on.
  5. (optional) define an alias systemwide / logical PIA pointing to PIA

Individual configuration (optional)

After the system-wide installation, PIA is prepared to be used by every user without his/her intervention. After starting, it is possible via an interactive menu to define locations for datafiles, savefiles, printfiles, etc.

However, if you want to have user-defined places for data, save and printfiles from the very beginning of your session, you can create a PIA directory to place a file giving all the addresses you might redefine for running PIA. The general command file will run this cshell script / command file if it is found. The default places in which it will look for it are

By defining an environment variable / logical PIA_LOC_IND you can place a special directory to be looked for wherever you want. Follow the next steps if you want to start PIA with your own definitions (for every definition you can make the default place is included, according to the system wide installation):
  1. create a 'PIA directory' (default your root/pia), a 'print directory' and a 'save' directory -
  2. copy from the general installation to the your individual PIA directory the file pia_envi (UNIX)/ pia_logdef.com (VMS)
  3. change the file setting the variables PIA_PRINT, PIA_SAVE to the print and save directories. If you are going to manage yourself FITS files containing products, change the variable FITDIR to the directory you are going to use.

  4. Default: the place from which you send the command PIA for all three is used for PIA_PRINT.
  5. put under the printer variable PIA_PRINTER your favourite printer (should be at least black/white Postscript capable).

  6. Default: $PRINTER (UNIX), SYS$PRINT (VMS).
  7. change the environment variable / logical W3NET to your favourite html browser.

  8. Default: netscape


 
History of this Section:
Date  Authors  Description 
04/07/1995  Ingolf Heinrichsen(MPIK) First Version 
20/07/1996  Carlos Gabriel(ESA/VILSPA-SAI)  General Update
07/03/1997 Carlos Gabriel(ESA/VILSPA-SAI)  Update (V6.1)
09/06/1997 Carlos Gabriel(ESA/VILSPA-SAI)  Update (V6.3)
16/02/1998 Carlos Gabriel(ESA/VILSPA-SAI) Update (V7.0)
25/08/1999 Carlos Gabriel(ESA/VILSPA-SAI) Update (V8.0)