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IRAF Update (1Mar93)
(from CCS, NOAO Newsletter No. 33, 1 March 1993)

The most recent version of IRAF, version 2.10.2 (V2.10 patch 2) was
released in late November. This is a limited patch available only for
Sun platforms. The V2.10.2 patch fixes a number of minor bugs and adds
a few miscellaneous system enhancements, including the latest versions
of the networking and magtape drivers. In particular, V2.10.2 includes
support for IRAF networking between UNIX systems and the V2.10 version
of VMS/IRAF.

Work is currently in progress on IRAF version 2.10.3, due out this
spring.  Although this will be another mini-release, this one will
include an unusual amount of new software. Most importantly, V2.10.3
will include IRAF support for the X11 support package, which will be
released concurrently with V2.10.3. We also hope to include the FITS
image kernel (developed in collaboration with STScI), a major new
version of DAOPHOT incorporating the DAOPHOT-II algorithms, and further
refinements to the world coordinate support in the spectral packages.
The X11 support package will include the Xgterm color graphics terminal
emulator (some of you may have seen this demonstrated at the recent
ADASS and AAS conferences) and a new X11 based IRAF image display
server, along with several other IRAF related X11 programs.

IRAF V2.10 was released in late November for the IBM RS/6000 running
AIX version 3.2. This was the first release of AIX/IRAF. The IRAF V2.10
releases for VAX/VMS and the Macintosh running A/UX 3.0 are still in
testing. We are running a little behind on our projected release dates
for these ports, but testing is now winding up for both platforms, and
the distributions should be out shortly.

The IRAF project received an HP 730 in November, on loan from HP to the
IRAF project, for porting and maintaining IRAF under HPUX. The V2.10
IRAF upgrade for this platform is being prepared for HPUX 9.01. The
initial upgrade of HPUX/IRAF has since been completed, but it will take
some time yet before testing is completed and the distribution is
prepared.

One of the NOAO Suns has been upgraded to Solaris 2.1, in preparation
for porting IRAF to this new Sun operating system. We have received
many inquiries from sites about IRAF running under Solaris. The current
Sun/IRAF distribution will not run under Solaris 2; this new operating
system is sufficiently different from SunOS that it will require a new
port and a separate distribution. The Solaris distribution should be
available about the time of the IRAF V2.10.3 release or shortly
thereafter.

A USENET, e-mail, and network archive based IRAF mail network is in the
works; there will be more information on this in the next IRAF
Newsletter, due out in the spring.

For further information about the IRAF project, please contact
Jeannette Barnes, Central Computer Services.

Doug Tody, Jeannette Barnes

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