[Difx-users] difx2mark4 bug {External}

[Mark Kettenis]

> Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2024 10:43:52 -0500
> From: "Geoffrey B. Crew via Difx-users" <difx-users at listmgr.nrao.edu>

Hi Geoff,

> I knew I was opening a can of worms on this one.  As a relative new-comer I
> was bit by this sort of thing a few times...and just assumed I was the only
> one confused.  Now I understand:
> 
> Fortran did not have good string handling and the (original) character set
> was limited; hence capitalization in AIPS.  VEX came later, particularly
> after K&R decided character (string) handling was something that needed to
> be fixed in C and there is no fixed convention other than Vex can handle
> mixed case and AIPS cannot.
> 
> With arrays such as SKA, ngVLA, &c under discussion, it seems that perhaps 2
> characters are not enough and some guidance within the DiFX code base on
> "what is the plan" might not be a bad idea so that the developers can move
> into some coherence in the future.
> 
> And if AIPS is to survive into that era, some sort of mapping of station
> codes into all-upper-case two letter codes might eventually be necessary. 
> difx2mark4 already has an option to provide a map of two-letter codes to one
> letter codes.  (And we already decided HOPS4 isn't going care and will use
> what is in the VEX.)

Both FITS-IDI and AIPS do support antenna names of up to 8 characters,
So even with AIPS surviving, longer station names should be an option.