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+.PP
+.ce
+.LG
+\fBIRAF Version 2.9 Revisions Summary\fP
+.SM
+.ce
+April 10, 1990
+.sp 2
+.NH
+Introduction
+.PP
+This document summarizes the changes in IRAF version 2.9.  This was primarily
+a development release intended to support applications software development,
+hence the major changes were in the programming environment, although there
+are important new features of interest to general users too.  Since IRAF V2.9
+is primarily a development release, it is not being released on all platforms,
+and it is expected that many sites will not need to upgrade until IRAF V2.10
+is available.  Sites interested in obtaining IRAF V2.9 should contact the
+IRAF project to determine if the release is available for a particular host
+system.  At the present time, the release is being made available for all
+Sun systems, for VAX/VMS, and for the DECstation running Ultrix.
+.PP
+What follows is a brief description of some of the new features available
+in IRAF Version 2.9.  This is not intended to be an exhaustive list, but
+rather a brief summary of the major changes since the last
+release of IRAF, Version 2.8, released in July 1989.
+More detailed revisions notes are available in the system notes file,
+\f(CWiraf$local/notes.v29\fR, as well as in the online revisions notes for
+the various packages.
+.PP
+Users looking for information on a particular new package should note that
+if the package is not mentioned in these release notes and therefore is not
+included in IRAF V2.9, that does not necessarily mean that it is not
+available.  Most major reduction and analysis packages are now made available
+for testing as user installable layered packages before they are included in
+the standard distribution.  For information on the available add-on packages,
+contact the IRAF group, or check the latest \fIIRAF Newsletter\fR.
+
+.LP
+This revisions summary is organized as follows:
+.DS
+.sp
+1.\h'|0.4i'\fBIntroduction\fP\l
+.sp
+2.\h'|0.4i'\fBIRAF System Revisions\fP\l
+.sp
+3.\h'|0.4i'\fBIRAF Package Revisions\fP\l
+.br
+\h'|0.4i'3.1.\h'|0.9i'Changes to the System Packages\l
+.br
+\h'|0.4i'3.2.\h'|0.9i'Glossary of New Tasks in the IRAF System Packages\l
+.br
+\h'|0.4i'3.3.\h'|0.9i'Changes to the NOAO Packages\l
+.br
+\h'|0.4i'3.4.\h'|0.9i'Modifications and Additions to Calibration Data\l
+.br
+\h'|0.4i'3.5.\h'|0.9i'Glossary of New Tasks in the NOAO Packages\l
+.sp
+4.\h'|0.4i'\fBProgramming Environment Revisions\fP\l
+.br
+\h'|0.4i'4.1.\h'|0.9i'Changes to the Programming Utilities\l
+.br
+\h'|0.4i'4.2.\h'|0.9i'Programming Interface Changes\l
+.DE
+
+.NH 
+IRAF System Revisions
+.NH 2
+IEEE to native floating point conversions
+.PP
+Support has been added to the programming interfaces (\(sc4.2.3) for
+converting between the IEEE floating point and native floating point data
+formats, including both single and double precision.  The FITS programs
+in DATAIO (\(sc3.1.1) make use of this, allowing floating point data to
+be exchanged in FITS format without having to convert to type integer.
+.NH 2
+World coordinate system support
+.PP
+A major new VOS interface MWCS has been added to support general world
+coordinate systems (WCS) and transformations thereon (\(sc4.2.1).
+This includes support for linear, piecewise linear or sampled WCS,
+and general nonlinear WCS such as the tangent plane or gnomonic projection.
+.PP
+If a FITS image is read into the system which has WCS information in the
+header, the WCS will be retained in the IRAF image header and can be used
+in coordinate transformations.  The IMAGES tasks which move pixels around
+have been modified to edit the WCS to reflect the transformation (\(sc3.1.2).
+The image i/o system will automatically propagate the WCS of an image to a
+new copy of the image, and will edit the WCS as necessary if an image
+section is copied (this applies to all IRAF tasks which operate upon images).
+The task RIMCURSOR in the LISTS package has been rewritten to add support
+for coordinate transformations (\(sc3.1.3), and can be used, e.g., to read
+out the RA and DEC of objects on the image display using the image cursor,
+if the image has the necessary WCS information in the image header.
+.PP
+Full integration of the new world coordinate facilities into all the IRAF
+applications, e.g., the graphics tasks and the spectral reduction packages,
+will take a year or longer due to the amount of software involved.  In V2.9
+the IRAF spectral packages have not yet been converted to use MWCS, and if
+MWCS is enabled it could alter the normal behavior of these packages.
+\fIIRAF V2.9 is therefore shipped with MWCS disabled\fR.  What "disabled"
+means is that WCS information in the image headers is not edited to
+reflect operations involving image sections, or geometric transformations
+of images.  Tasks such as RIMCURSOR which use an already existing WCS will
+still work whether or not header editing is disabled.  If the spectral tasks
+will not be used and it is desired that world coordinates be propagated
+correctly in image transformations, MWCS header editing can be enabled in
+either of the following ways.
+.PP
+The MWCS transformations are disabled by defining the variable "\f(CWnomwcs\fR"
+in the IRAF environment.  To globally enable MWCS by default for everyone
+using the system, edit the file "\f(CWhlib$zzsetenv.def\fR" and comment out the
+following line as shown (you want to add the leading \f(CW#\fR, which will
+be missing in the distributed version):
+.DS
+\f(CW#set    nomwcs          = yes\fR
+.DE
+To enable MWCS header editing temporarily, for the current IRAF run:
+.DS
+\f(CWcl> reset nomwcs = no\fR
+.DE
+.LP
+Detailed information on the coordinate systems defined by MWCS can be
+obtained in the online system with the command
+.DS
+\f(CWcl> phelp mwcs$MWCS.hlp fi+\fR
+.DE
+Additional information is also given in the help page for RIMCURSOR.
+.NH 2
+IMFORT changes
+.PP
+The IMFORT interface (host level Fortran or C interface to the IRAF image
+format) has undergone the following bug fixes and enhancements:
+.RS
+.IP \(bu
+A couple of bugs associated with the IMDIR (image pixel-file directory)
+feature introduced in IRAF V2.8 have been fixed.
+.IP \(bu
+Image clobber checking has been added.  By default, if you create a new
+image and another image with the same name already exists, the image create
+will now return an error code leaving the existing image unchanged.
+To override clobber checking in IMFORT programs, restoring the previous
+behavior of the interface, define "\f(CWclobber\fR" in your host environment.
+.IP \(bu
+IMFORT will now perform a limited filename translation service using the
+IRAF VOS filename translation code.  This should allow most IRAF filenames
+to be used as input to host level IMFORT programs.  Full VOS filename mapping
+is not provided, but filenames containing upper case characters and
+multiple "." delimited fields should be translated as in IRAF programs.
+.IP \(bu
+On systems with multiple architecture support (e.g., Sun, Convex) the FC
+task, used to compile and link IMFORT programs from within the IRAF
+environment, is now a script rather than a simple foreign task front end
+to XC.  The purpose of the script is to see that all the necessary IRAF
+and host level command line switches and environment definitions
+(\f(CWIRAFARCH\fR, \f(CWFLOAT_OPTION\fR, etc.) are used.
+Previously, users had to make these environment definitions manually,
+and if they forgot the IMFORT program could fail to link or execute.
+.IP \(bu
+On most UNIX/IRAF systems, the host library \f(CW-lU77\fR is now searched
+automatically by FC when an IMFORT program is linked.  This library is
+not used by any of the IRAF code, but is required to link some Fortran
+programs that might want to use IMFORT.
+.RE
+.LP
+Users are encouraged to use FC to link their IMFORT programs.  It is possible
+to manually link against the IRAF libraries if you know what you are doing,
+but the location of the libraries and the required host level command line
+switches vary for different systems and for different architectures of a
+single system, and it is easy to make mistakes.
+.NH 2
+MKIRAF now copies login.cl to login.cl.OLD
+.PP
+On UNIX/IRAF systems, the MKIRAF command will now copy any existing
+\f(CWlogin.cl\fR file to \f(CWlogin.cl.OLD\fR, so that, for example, you
+can more easily merge any custom changes back in after running MKIRAF.
+On VMS/IRAF systems a new file version is created, as before.
+.NH 2
+Local additions to termcap/graphcap
+.PP
+The termcap and graphcap device capability files have been reorganized with
+a section at the top for local additions.  It is recommended that any locally
+added entries be made in this area, to simplify future system updates.
+The local additions can then be simply transferred to the new version of
+the file when a new version of IRAF is installed (any entries which are
+modified versions of standard entries should always be checked to see if
+anything has changed in the distributed version).
+.NH 2
+BIN directories now smaller
+.PP
+On systems with multiple architecture support, the architecture save file
+\f(CWOBJS.arc\fR stored in the BIN directory for each architecture is now
+maintained as a compressed file.  In a typical case this reduces the size
+of the file by about a factor of two, saving 1-2 Mb of disk space in each
+BIN directory.
+.NH 2
+Various system buffers increased in size
+.PP
+The layered software support in IRAF V2.8 (\f(CWextern.pkg\fR and all that)
+had a problem with very long \f(CWhelpdb\fR environment strings, limiting the
+number of external packages which could be defined.  To fix this problem,
+various buffers were increased in size all over the system.  The
+maximum length of an environment variable such as \f(CWhelpdb\fR is now 960
+characters (12 80 character lines of text).  String parameters to tasks can
+also be larger, and the system is more resistant to problems when size limits
+are exceeded.  Foreign task commands, OS escapes, etc., can all be larger now.
+The current limit on such strings is about 1024 characters, and is defined
+at sysgen time by the new system parameter \f(CWSZ_COMMAND\fR in
+\f(CWhlib$iraf.h\fR.
+.NH 2
+Shared library versions
+.PP
+The Sun/IRAF shared library mechanism was modified to add support for shared
+library versions.  The result is that when you install IRAF V2.9, which has a
+different shared library than V2.8, any local programs or other layered
+software linked under V2.8 will continue to run, because both the old V2.8
+shared library and the new V2.9 shared library are included in V2.9 (with
+different version numbers).  Although old programs will continue to run with
+V2.9, it is recommended that they be relinked eventually to take advantage
+of the many features and bug fixes provided by V2.9.  In the case of very
+large packages, e.g., STSDAS 1.0, it may be wise to wait until the latest
+release can be obtained and installed before relinking, as the old version
+will not have been tested under IRAF V2.9 (which of course, didn't exist
+back then).
+.NH 2
+File pager enhancements
+.PP
+The system file pager, used in the PAGE task, the new PHELP task,
+and other places, has undergone the following enhancements.
+.RS
+.IP \(bu
+The N and P keys, used to move to the next or previous file when paging a list
+of files, now have a dual meaning: when paging a \fIsingle\fR file containing
+multiple formfeed delimited pages, the keys will move to the next or previous
+\fIpage\fR in the file.  This feature is used in the new PHELP task to page
+a large file containing, e.g., all the HELP pages for a package.
+.IP \(bu
+A limited upscrolling capability is now supported, e.g., if you hit the 'k'
+key while in the pager, the screen will be scrolled up one line in the file
+being paged.  This feature may not be supported for some terminals, in which
+case the entire screen is redrawn at the new file location.
+.RE
+.NH 2
+STF image kernel enhancements
+.PP
+Extensive work has been done on the STF image kernel in this release (the
+STF kernel allows IRAF to access the Space Telescope image format directly).
+The changes included the following.
+.RS
+.IP \(bu
+Header file caching.  STF images often have quite large FITS headers which
+can be time consuming to read.  A header file caching scheme is now used to
+optimize the kernel in cases where the same imagefile is repeatedly accessed,
+e.g., when successively reading each element of a large group format image.
+By default up to 3 header files will be cached; this default should be
+fine for most applications.  If necessary the number of cache slots can be
+changed by defining the integer variable "\f(CWstfcache\fR" in the IRAF
+environment (the builtin maximum is 5 cached headers per process).
+.IP \(bu
+\fIThe semantics of the kernel regarding header updates have changed\fR.
+STF images differ from other IRAF images in that they may consist of a
+group of images all in the same file, with each individual image having
+its own header (the group header), plus a single global FITS header shared
+by all images in the group.  This is no problem in a read operation,
+but in a write or update operation there can be problems since parameters
+cannot be added to or deleted from the individual group headers.
+The new semantics regarding STF image header updates are as follows:
+1) when updating the header of a multigroup image (not recommended) only
+the group header is updated, and attempts to add new parameters are
+ignored; 2) when updating the header of an image containing a single group,
+both the group header and the FITS header are updated.
+.sp
+As a result of these changes, the behavior of a single group STF image is
+now identical to that of a regular IRAF image.  It is recommended that
+multigroup STF images be treated as read only if possible, creating only
+single group images during interactive processing (except when running a
+program that is explicitly designed to create multigroup images).
+.IP \(bu
+The kernel was modified to work with the new MWCS (world coordinate system)
+interface.  The image section transformation is now performed by MWCS rather
+than by the STF kernel.
+.IP \(bu
+A number of minor changes were made to the way the group parameter block (GPB)
+cards are maintained in the IRAF image descriptor.  The comments on GPB
+definition cards are now preserved.  Restrictions on the grouping of GPB
+cards in the header have been removed.
+.IP \(bu
+A number of bugs were fixed and restrictions removed, e.g., the size of a
+header is no longer limited to 32767 characters (404 lines).
+.RE
+.LP
+The IRAF core system and NOAO science applications were extensively tested
+with both single and multigroup STF images using the new kernel, and we now
+feel that it is safe to use the STF image format with these tasks,
+although the regular format is preferred if there is no special reason to
+use the STF format (the regular format is more efficient).
+.NH 2
+QPOE (event list image format) enhancements
+.PP
+The QPOE image kernel, used for event list data (photon counting detectors,
+e.g., X-ray satellites such as ROSAT) underwent the following changes.
+.RS
+.IP \(bu
+MWCS (world coordinate system) support has been added (\(sc4.2.2).  This
+provides a consistent coordinate system despite, e.g., the blocking factor,
+rect, or image section used to construct an image matrix from an event list.
+.IP \(bu
+When opening a QPOE file as an IRAF image, the runtime filter expression
+used to create the image matrix is now saved in the parameter \f(CWQPFILT\fIn\fR
+in the image header (multiple cards are used for long expressions).
+.IP \(bu
+Region masks of arbitrary complexity and size can now be used to mask the
+event list when reading time-ordered or unordered (unindexed) event lists.
+This is done using the new PLRIO package (\(sc4.2.5) which provides the
+capability to efficiently random access large image masks of arbitrary
+complexity.
+.IP \(bu
+Unmatched brackets, braces, or parentheses are now reported as an error by
+the filter expression parser (this can occur even with a valid expression,
+e.g., due to truncation of the expression string).  A reference to an
+undefined keyword, e.g., due to a spelling error, is now detected and reported
+as an error.  Any errors occurring during expression parsing will now result
+in termination of the calling task, unless caught in an error handler.
+.IP \(bu
+A number of bugs were fixed.
+.RE
+.NH 2
+Changes affecting image display in VMS/IRAF
+.PP
+A new version of Nigel Sharp's UISDISPLAY program, for image display on
+VMS systems running UIS, has been installed in "\f(CWiraf$vms/uis\fR".
+An executable for an early version of the SAOIMAGE display program for the
+X window system, written by Mike VanHilst (SAO), and ported to VMS by Jay
+Travisano (STScI) has been placed in the directory "\f(CWiraf$vms/x11\fR".
+An executable for a VMS version of XTERM (the X window terminal emulator,
+ported to VMS by Stephan Jansen), is also in this directory.  We wanted our
+VMS users to have access to these programs, although more development work
+and testing is needed before we can offer good support for X window based
+image display and graphics on VMS.  A more comprehensive package providing
+enhanced capabilities should be available as an add-on later this year.
+
+.NH
+IRAF Package Revisions
+.PP
+The most notable changes to the tasks in the IRAF packages are summarized
+below.  Further information may be obtained by reading the help page for each
+task, or by paging the revisions file for a particular package.
+For example, to page the revisions for the DATAIO package:
+.DS
+\f(CWcl> phelp dataio.revisions op=sys\fP
+.DE
+.NH 2
+Changes to the System Packages
+.NH 3
+Modifications to tasks in the DATAIO package
+.IP \(bu
+The RFITS and WFITS tasks have been modified to add support for the IEEE
+floating point format.  The "bitpix" parameter in WFITS can be set to -32
+or -64 to specify real or double precision IEEE floating numbers on output.
+RFITS recognizes these same values in the bitpix keyword in the FITS header
+on input and converts the data accordingly.  Note that this option must be 
+selected by the user as the defaults for writing a FITS tape have not changed.
+The user is cautioned that support for the IEEE floating formats is a new
+feature of FITS and may not be supported by all FITS readers.
+.IP \(bu
+RFITS was modified so that the "iraf_file" parameter can be a list of
+output images or a image root name.
+.NH 3
+Modifications to tasks in the IMAGES package
+.IP \(bu
+MWCS (world coordinate system) support was added to those tasks in the
+IMAGES package which change the geometry of an image, i.e.,
+IMSHIFT, SHIFTLINES, MAGNIFY, IMTRANSPOSE, IMCOPY, BLKREP, BLKAVG, ROTATE,
+IMLINTRAN, REGISTER, and GEOTRAN (REGISTER and GEOTRAN only support simple
+linear transformations).  If one of these tasks is used to linearly transform
+an image, the world coordinate system (WCS) in the image header will be
+updated to reflect the transformation.  Note that MWCS is disabled by default
+in IRAF V2.9, and must be explicitly enabled to allow these tasks to edit
+the image header to update the WCS (see \(sc2.2).
+.IP \(bu
+The IMSTATISTICS task was modified. The "verbose" parameter was renamed
+"format" with the default being set to "yes" (fixed format with column labels).
+Otherwise the fields are printed in free format with 2 blanks separating
+the fields.  The name of the median field has been changed to "midpt".
+.IP \(bu
+The IMHISTOGRAM task has a new parameter called "hist_type" that gives
+the user the option of plotting the integral, first derivative, or
+second derivative of the histogram instead of the normal histogram.
+.NH 3
+Modifications to tasks in the LISTS package
+.IP \(bu
+The RIMCURSOR task in the LISTS package was completely rewritten to add
+MWCS support, so that coordinates may be output in any user specified
+coordinate system defined by the WCS information in the image header of
+the reference image.  For example, if an image with a TAN projection WCS
+is loaded into the image display, RIMCURSOR may be used to print the right
+ascension and declination at the location defined by the image cursor.
+Refer to the help page for details.
+.NH 3
+Modifications to tasks in the PLOT package
+.IP \(bu
+A new graphics kernel task IMDKERN (written by Zolt Levay at STScI) has been
+added to the PLOT package.  The new graphics kernel allows the graphics
+output of any task to be plotted as a graphics overlay on the image display.
+As with the other graphics kernels, this may be done by calling the IMDKERN
+task directly, but is more often done by specifying the image display
+(e.g., device "\f(CWimd\fR") as the output device when running a graphics task.
+Refer to the help page for details.
+.IP \(bu
+The CONTOUR task was modified so that it could be used with IMDKERN to
+overlay contour plots on the image display.
+If the parameters \f(CWfill=yes\fP and \f(CWperimeter=no\fP are set
+the contour plot is scaled to fill the entire device viewport and all
+axis and plot labeling is disabled.  If the image being displayed also
+fills the entire device viewport (display frame) then the contour plot
+will be drawn to the same scale as the displayed image.
+Refer to the help page for details.
+.IP \(bu
+Several tasks in the PLOT package were modified to allow use with image
+specifications containing brackets, e.g., group format images, QPOE
+filter expressions, and image sections.  The tasks modified were PROW,
+PROWS, PCOL, PCOLS, SURFACE, and CONTOUR.
+.IP \(bu
+An option was added to the PVECTOR task to output the vector (cut through
+the image at an arbitrary angle and center) as a text file or image,
+rather than plotting the vector.
+.NH 3
+Modifications to tasks in the SYSTEM package
+.IP \(bu
+A new task PHELP (paged help) was added to the SYSTEM package.
+PHELP is a script task front end to HELP which collects the output of HELP
+in a scratch file and pages it with the system pager, allowing one to
+randomly skip around to read the help text.  Note that paging of all the
+help pages in a package is supported, e.g.,
+.DS
+\f(CWcl> phelp images.*\fR
+.DE
+would page all the help files for the IMAGES package.
+.IP \(bu
+The NEWS task was completely rewritten, and is now used to page the
+revisions summary for the current and previous releases.  In other words,
+one can now type NEWS to find out what is new in the current release.
+.IP \(bu
+The GRIPES task was modified to send mail to
+\f(CWiraf@noao.edu\fP or \f(CW5355::iraf\fP.
+The IRAF site administrator may want to check this script for compatibility
+with the local mail system.
+.RE
+.NH 2
+Glossary of New Tasks in the IRAF System Packages
+\fR
+.TS
+center;
+c c c c c
+l c l c lw(4i).
+Task		Package		Description
+_
+
+imdkern	-	plot	-	Image display device (IMD) graphics kernel
+news	-	system	-	Summarize what is new in the current release
+phelp	-	system	-	Paged HELP: collects and pages the output of HELP
+rimcursor	-	lists	-	Read image cursor position in world coordinates
+.TE
+
+.NH 2
+Changes to the NOAO Packages
+.NH 3
+New NOAO Packages
+.PP
+A new package ARTDATA, used to generate artificial data, has been added
+to the NOAO packages.  ARTDATA includes tasks for the generation of star
+fields, optionally containing galaxies, and one and two dimensional spectra
+as well as simple test pattern images.
+The tasks GALLIST and STARLIST provide many options for producing lists
+of galaxies or stars that can then be used by the task MKOBJECTS to produce
+output images.  The tasks MK1DSPEC and MK2DSPEC provide tools for making
+artificial spectral data.  The task MKNOISE allows the user to add readout
+noise, poisson noise and/or cosmic ray events to new or already 
+existing images.   The task MKPATTERN allows the user to make images
+from a choice of patterns.
+.NH 3
+Modifications to Existing NOAO Packages
+.NH 4
+The ASTUTIL package
+.IP \(bu
+The task SETAIRMASS in the ASTUTIL package was modified so that it now
+precesses the coordinates to the epoch of the observation.
+.NH 4
+The DIGIPHOT.APPHOT package
+.IP \(bu
+A new task APTEST was added to the DIGIPHOT.APPHOT package that
+tests the execution of the package.  Output files are generated that
+the user can review.
+.IP \(bu
+Two new parameters were added to DATAPARS, "datamin" and "datamax".
+Pixels outside this range are rejected from the sky fitting algorithms
+and from the non-linear least square fits in FITPSF and RADPROF.
+.IP \(bu
+An "update" parameter was added to all of the APPHOT tasks.  If the
+"verify" parameter is set to "yes" and the task is run in noninteractive
+mode \f(CWupdate=yes\fP will update the critical parameters in their
+respective parameter sets.
+.IP \(bu
+Four new parameters, "airmass", "xairmass", "filter", and "ifilter",
+were added to the DATAPARS task.  These parameters provide the user the
+option of having the filter and airmass quantities from the image
+headers to be carried over into the APPHOT database files for later
+transmission to calibration programs.
+.IP \(bu
+A new algorithm "mean" was added to the sky fitting options.
+.IP \(bu
+A setup menu mode was added to all the APPHOT tasks.  When the user types
+"i" in interactive mode a setup menu is presented rather than a fixed
+set of predefined commands.
+.NH 4
+The IMRED.IRRED package
+.IP \(bu
+The APSELECT
+task (from the APPHOT package) has been made visible.
+.IP \(bu
+The image i/o
+for IRMOSAIC, IRALIGN, IRMATCH1D, and IRMATCH2D has been optimized
+so things should run much faster.  There is now an option to trim
+each section before insertion into the output image.  The actions of 
+these tasks can now optionally be output to the terminal.
+.NH 4
+The IMRED.MSRED package
+.IP \(bu
+A task called MSBPLOT was added to the IMRED.MSRED package.
+This task allows the user to plot a range of lines in multispec images in batch
+mode.
+.NH 4
+The ONEDSPEC package
+.IP \(bu
+Several modifications were made to the ONEDSPEC package.  These changes
+affect all of the IMRED packages that include these tasks as well.
+.IP \(bu
+The equivalent width measurement using the "e" keystroke in SPLOT
+is now computed using the ratio of the spectrum to the continuum.  The 
+previous approximation is included in the logfile for comparison.
+.IP \(bu
+The DISPERSION task will now add CD\fIi\fR_\fIj\fR (CD matrix) keywords to
+the image header as an alternative way of expressing the dispersion function.
+If the keywords W0 and WPC or CRVALn and CDELTn
+are not in the image header the tasks reading this information for 
+setting the wavelength (IDENTIFY, SENSFUNC, SPLOT, and SPECPLOT) will
+look for the CD\fIi\fR_\fIj\fR keywords.  This change should have no affect
+on the NOAO applications but provides compatibility with STSDAS applications
+using the new MWCS interface provided with IRAF version 2.9.
+.IP \(bu
+The call to the CALIBRATE task in the script task BATCHRED was modified so that
+the "extinct" parameter is always set to "yes".  Since CALIBRATE checks to
+be sure the data has not been previously extinction corrected this simple
+change provides more flexibility.
+.NH 4
+The PROTO package
+.IP \(bu
+Two new tasks, IMALIGN and IMCENTROID, were added to the package. IMCENTROID
+computes a set of relative shifts required to register a set of images.
+The task IMALIGN both computes the shifts and aligns the images.
+.IP \(bu
+The JOIN task (previously a simple script) has been replaced by a compiled
+version which removes many of the restrictions of the previous version.
+.IP \(bu
+The IR tasks have been modified as mentioned above under the IMRED.IRRED
+section (\(sc3.3.2.3).
+.IP \(bu
+The TVMARK task was modified to permit deletion (the "u" key)
+as well as addition of
+objects to the coordinate file.  Another cursor keystroke, the "f" key,
+was added allowing the user to draw a filled rectangle.
+.NH 4
+The TWODSPEC.LONGSLIT package
+.IP \(bu
+Tasks in the TWODSPEC.LONGSLIT package that are used for setting 
+wavelength information (EXTINCTION, FLUXCALIB, and TRANSFORM)
+were modified for the CD\fIi_j\fR keywords as outlined above for ONEDSPEC.
+.NH 2
+Modifications and Additions to Calibration Data
+.PP
+The calibration data used by some of the tasks in the TWODSPEC,
+ONEDSPEC, and many of the IMRED packages are kept in a directory
+called ONEDSTDS in \f(CWnoao$lib\fR.  The current contents of this directory
+are best summarized by paging through its README file, e.g.,
+.DS
+\f(CWcl> page noao$lib/onedstds/README\fP
+.DE
+.PP
+A new directory \(CWspec50redcal\fR in "\(CWnoao$lib/onedstds\fR"
+has been added containing flux information for standard stars.
+The data in this list are from Massey and Gronwall, Ap. J., July 20, 1990.
+.NH 2
+Glossary of New Tasks in the NOAO Packages
+\fR
+.TS
+center;
+c c c c c c
+l c l c lw(3.5i).
+Task		Package		Description
+_
+
+aptest	-	apphot	-	Run basic tests on the apphot package tasks
+gallist	-	artdata	-	Make an artificial galaxies list
+imalign	-	proto	-	Register and shift a list of images 
+imcentroid	-	proto	-	Compute relative shifts for a list of images
+mk1dspec	-	artdata	-	Make/add artificial 1D spectra
+mk2dspec	-	artdata	-	Make/add artificial 2D spectra using 1D spectra templates
+mknoise	-	artdata	-	Make/add noise and cosmic rays to 1D/2D images
+mkobjects	-	artdata	-	Make/add artificial stars and galaxies to 2D images
+mkpattern	-	artdata	-	Make/add patterns to images
+msbplot	-	msred	-	Batch plots of multispec spectra using SPLOT
+starlist	-	artdata	-	Make an artificial star list
+.TE
+
+.NH
+Programming Environment Revisions
+.NH 2
+Changes to the Programming Utilities
+.NH 3
+MKPKG changes
+.PP
+The MKPKG utility can now substitute the contents of a file back into the
+input stream, as a special case of the macro replacement syntax.
+For example, the sequence
+.DS
+\f(CWabc$(@file)def\fR
+.DE
+would be translated as
+.DS
+\f(CWabc10def\fR
+.DE
+if the file "\fIfile\fR" contained the string "10".  The replacement is
+performed by inserting the contents of the file back into the input stream,
+replacing sequences of newlines, spaces, or tabs by a single space, and
+omitting any trailing whitespace.
+.PP
+The "-p <pkg>" argument to MKPKG, XC, and so on loads the environment of the
+named package \fIpkg\fR, to define the package environment variables, load
+the mkpkg special file list, define the directories to be searched for global
+include files and libraries, and so on.  Multiple "-p" arguments may be given
+to load multiple package environments.  What is new is that if \f(CWpkglibs\fR
+is defined in the environment of a package to list the package library
+directories to be searched (the usual case), and multiple package environments
+are loaded, successive redefinitions of \f(CWpkglibs\fR will \fIadd\fR to
+the list of directories to be searched, rather than redefining the old list
+as each new package environment is loaded.  For example, if two package
+environments are loaded, and each defines its own library, both libraries
+will be searched.
+.NH 3
+Generic preprocessor
+.PP
+A minor change was made to the generic preprocessor which affects how strings
+such as "FOO_PIXEL" are translated.  In the usual case, the preprocessor
+replaces all occurrences of "PIXEL" by "int", "real", or whatever the actual
+datatype is.  The translation is now context sensitive.  Rather than
+translating "FOO_PIXEL" as "FOO_int" (e.g., "MII_PIXEL" -> "MII_int"), the
+type name will now be output in upper case if the rest of the name in which
+it occurs is upper case.  Hence, a string such as "MII_PIXEL" will now be
+translated as "MII_INT".  This allows the use of generic constructs to
+symbolize SPP macros.
+.NH 3
+SPP changes
+.PP
+The language constant ARB, formerly defined as 32767, is now treated
+differently depending upon how it is used.  In a declaration of an array
+argument, ARB is replaced in the output Fortran by a "*", e.g.,
+"\f(CWint data[ARB]\fR" becomes "\f(CWINTEGER DATA(*)\fR".  In an executable
+statement, ARB is replaced by a very large ("arbitrarily" large) integer
+value, e.g., to define a DO-loop which is to loop an arbitrary number of
+times.  If ARB is mistakenly used to dimension an array which is a local
+variable rather than an argument, the SPP translator will now detect and
+report the error.
+.NH 3
+Interactive development and the process cache
+.PP
+Whenever a CL task is run and the process containing the task is already
+idling in the CL process cache, the CL will now check to see if the modify
+date on the process executable has changed, and restart the process if the
+executable has been modified.  For example, when doing software development
+from within the CL and a process is alternately relinked and tested, the
+CL will now automatically detect that the process has been relinked and will
+run the new process, without any need to manually flush the process cache.
+.NH 2
+Programming Interface Changes
+.NH 3
+New MWCS interface (world coordinate system support)
+.PP
+A major new VOS interface MWCS, providing general facilities for 
+linear and nonlinear world coordinate systems, has been added to
+the programming environment and is used in IRAF V2.9 in IMIO, IMAGES, and
+other parts of the system.  MWCS is intended for use in scientific
+applications as well as in system code such as IMIO, hence is of potential
+interest to anyone developing software within the IRAF environment.
+The source directory is "\f(CWmwcs\fR" and the interface is documented in the
+file "\f(CWmwcs$MWCS.hlp\fR".  Users should be aware that, although the new
+interface addresses the general WCS problem and has been carefully designed,
+a second version of the interface is planned and the current interface is
+not yet a "frozen" interface.
+.NH 3
+QPOE interface changes
+.PP
+The QPOE (event list image) interface has been extended to add routines to
+store MWCS objects in the QPOE header.  By default, there is one MWCS per
+QPOE file, stored encoded in a machine independent binary format in a
+variable length array \fIqpwcs\fR of type \fIopaque\fR.  The new routines
+are as follows:
+.DS
+.TS
+n.
+mw = qp_loadwcs \&(qp)
+qp_savewcs \&(qp, mw)
+mw = qpio_loadwcs \&(io)
+.TE
+.DE
+.LP
+The routines \fIqp_savewcs\fR and \fIqp_loadwcs\fR merely save a MWCS in the
+QPOE header, or load a previously saved one.  The QPIO (event i/o) routine
+\fIqpio_loadwcs\fR is like \fIqp_loadwcs\fR, except that it will also modify
+the Lterm of the MWCS to reflect any blocking factor or "rect" specified in
+the filtering expression when the event list was opened.  The new routine is
+called automatically by QPF and IMIO whenever a QPOE event list is opened
+under image i/o, making the physical coordinate system of the image matrix
+the same as physical event coordinates.
+.PP
+The calling sequences of the \fIqp_add\fR and \fIqp_astr\fR routines, used
+to conditionally add or update header parameters, have been changed (so far
+as we could determine very few programs exist yet which use these routines,
+so we decided to risk an interface change).  The change made was to add a
+\fIcomment\fR argument.  This change was motivated by the observation that
+people would not use the routines but would instead use lower level routines,
+in order to be able to set the comment field if the parameter has to be added
+to the header.
+.NH 3
+IEEE support routines added
+.PP
+Routines for IEEE floating to native floating conversions have been added to
+the MII and OSB interfaces.  The new MII routines are as follows:
+.DS
+.TS
+n.
+nelem = miiread[rd] \&(fd, spp, maxelem)
+miiwrite[rd] \&(fd, spp, nelem)
+miipak[rd] \&(spp, mii, nelems, spp_datatype)
+miiupk[rd] \&(mii, spp, nelems, spp_datatype)
+.TE
+.DE
+.LP
+The \fImiiread\fR and \fRmiiwrite\fR routines are like their FIO
+counterparts, except that they are used only with data of the indicated
+type, and perform the IEEE to native floating conversion (or vice versa)
+as part of the i/o operation.  The \fImiipak\fR and \fImiiupk\fR routines
+pack (native\(->IEEE) and unpack (IEEE\(->native) arrays of the indicated
+type.
+.PP
+The lowest level conversion routines are the OSB routines, which are what
+the MII routines use to perform the lowest level translation.
+.DS
+.TS
+n.
+ieepak[rd] \&(datum)
+ieeupk[rd] \&(datum)
+ieevpak[rd] \&(native, ieee, nelem)
+ieevupk[rd] \&(ieee, native, nelem)
+iee[sg]nan[rd] \&(NaN)
+.TE
+.DE
+.LP
+The \fIieepak\fR and \fIieeupk\fR routines transform a single scalar value
+in place, while the \fIieevpak\fR and \fIieevupk\fR routines transform
+vectors (note that the package prefix is "iee", not "ieee").  In-place
+vector conversions are permitted.  Since IRAF does not support the IEEE
+not-a-number formats, \fINaN\fR, \fIInf\fR etc. values are converted to a
+legal native floating value on input.  The native floating value to which
+\fINaN\fRs are mapped (default zero) may be globally set with \fIieesnan\fR.
+.PP
+On some systems, e.g., the VAX, the low level conversion routines may be
+written in assembler or machine dependent C.  If so, the source file actually
+used by the system will be found in the "\f(CWhost$as\fR" directory.
+.NH 3
+New routine GETLLINE added to FIO
+.PP
+A new routine \fIgetlline\fR (get long line) has been added to FIO.  This
+is similar to \fIgetline\fR, except that it will reconstruct arbitrarily
+long newline delimited lines of text, whereas \fIgetline\fR returns at most
+SZ_LINE characters.
+.DS
+nchars = getlline (fd, outstr, maxch)
+.DE
+.LP
+The new routine should not be confused with the old routine \fIgetlongline\fR,
+a higher level routine which performs a similar function, but which also 
+ignores comment lines and help blocks, and maintains a line counter.
+.NH 3
+Modifications to PLIO/PMIO
+.PP
+A new routine \fIp[lm]_sectnotconst\fR has been added to PLIO and PMIO
+(the pixel list and image mask interfaces).  As the name suggests, the
+routine tests whether a given rectangular section of the mask is all at
+the same value, and if so returns the mask value as an output argument.
+.DS
+bool = pl_sectnotconst (pl_src, v1, v2, ndim, mval)
+.DE
+.LP
+A new subpackage PLRIO has been added.  This is used to efficiently random
+access any 2D plane of an existing pixel list or image mask.
+.DS
+.TS
+n.
+plr = plr_open \&(pl, plane, buflimit)
+plr_setrect \&(plr, x1,y1, x2,y2)
+mval = plr_getpix \&(plr, x, y)
+plr_getlut \&(plr, bufp, xsize,ysize, xblock,yblock)
+plr_close \&(plr)
+.TE
+.DE
+.LP
+The mask is opened for random access on a special descriptor which incorporates
+a scaled, active 2D lookup table.  Most subsequent \fIplr_getpix\fR calls
+will return the given mask value directly from the table with
+very little overhead; only if the referenced pixel occurs in a region
+too complex to be described by a single table entry is the value
+computed by direct evaluation of the mask.  A special 2D binary
+recursive algorithm (using \fIpl_sectnotconst\fR above) with log2(N)
+performance is used to calculate the scaled lookup table.  These
+algorithms provide efficient table generation and random mask pixel
+access even for very large masks.