[daip] Comments from UK AIPS Users
ajc at star.rl.ac.uk
ajc at star.rl.ac.uk
Thu Mar 22 12:01:45 EST 2001
Dear AIPS Supporters,
As part of its role of supporting the UK astronomy community in its computing
needs, the Starlink project recently conducted a survey of 'Software for
Astronomical Data Analysis' amongst the community (closing date 16 Feb
2001). A questionnaire was sent to all Starlink users (who are not
necessarily users of Starlink software) and over 360 replies were
received.
We thought you might be interested in the references to AIPS in the returns.
(A few references to AIPS++ also crept in.)
The attached document lists the relevant comments. The numbers in the 'Quest'
columns indicate different users - names have been removed to preserve
confidentiality. If you should want to reply to any specific points we can
probably arrange for contact to be made with the users.
There are four sections:
1. Best and worst features of AIPS
2. General comments on AIPS
3. Reasons users changed to AIPS (nil return for this)
4. Reasons users changed from AIPS
We hope this may be of use to you.
Regards
--
Alan Chipperfield Email: ajc at star.rl.ac.uk
CCLRC, Phone: +44-1235-821900 ext 6165
Starlink Project,
Rutherford Appleton Lab.,
Chilton, Didcot, OXON, OX11 OQX
______________________________________________________________________
This email represents the opinion of the author only and
should not be construed as reflecting CCLRC's corporate view.
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05.03.2001 13:46:15
Report on Table: usage_features -- 1d
1d -- 'Best and worst features?' (For the one or two applications which
are most important to you, what are their best features and what
are the worst?)
Soft Best Features Worst Features
AIPS
00036
Command line interface, full record Bugs in updates especially wrt LINUX
of all processes performed, enormous
flexibility and often very helpful
(albeit idiosyncratic) documentation
00081
Familiarity User interface...
00115
Fast and generally reliable. Not very simple documentation, no
UNDO command!
00139
Comprehensive package for User Interface is elderly and
interferometric data reduction Vital idiosyncratic
for radio astronomy
00173
Powerful, can handle HUGE chunks of lack of versatility; some bits are
data too primary
00216
fast, high quality algorithms old 1960's still task input
interface
00219
Very powerful, 99.999% reliable No good documentation. Cookbook is
okay for learning, but reference
manuals are needed.
00220
Widespread availability, so can be Cumbersome internal image catalogue
used to prepare and test image system with insufficient length of
archives for distribution throughout names to permit distinct names for
the community to ensure they will be similar but non-identical images.
properly interpreted with coordinate Generally rather cumbersome style of
systems intelligible to a wide operation throughout package.
audience - especially useful for
data originally synthesised and
analysed with local software and
subsequently required to be more
widely distributed.
00223
Functionality Overwhelming
00245
It is very powerful (when you know It is not always clear from the
how to use it!). helps how to do something and it
really requires you to be familar
with it to get it to work well.
00374
generally reliable - few bugs. No longer fully maintained.
00396
A near total package for radio Outdated data input/output handling.
astronomy. Very unreliable with DAT drives
(here anyway)
00420
Suitability for purpose (radio Old fashioned interface, especially
interferometry). Flexibility and the online help.
robustness of tasks, usable for
non-radio-astronomy uses. Portable.
00486
Easily accessible online help, nice Awkward system management, getting
command interface, excellent image tape support working can be
display and hardcopy output. problematic, cryptic error messages
00509
It works and it is a surprise if it Very poor for data editing
crashes
00517
Interaction with hardware is a real
problem. eg Serious problems with
tape drives at our site - cannot
load data from the VLBA correlator.
We've tried soliciting help - but
no-one wants to know.
00532
Very comprehensive and flexible. Some inconsistent terminology. Still
Command-line interface is a bit too VL(B)A specific. Some
straightforward. Excellent automatic documentation inadequate.
records of most operations
performed. Several layers of
documentation. Well maintained in
general.
00544
Ubiquitous for data reduction Self-calibration techniques not
satisfactory
00547
Reliable, good applications, good Difficult to write new applications
documentation
05.03.2001 13:46:16
Report on Table: usage_comment -- 1b,2b,3b
1b,2b,3b -- 'Any comments?' (about any of the software items in this
Section)
Software
Quest Comment
AIPS
00066
It's so annoying that such an essential piece of software is so
counterintuitive.
00163
Dreadful user interface, but I guess that has been known for some time...
00396
Starlink could do more to install/support up to date versions of AIPS
AIPS++
00036
Although I do not use this at present it will become very important in
the near future when it is able to handle MERLIN and EVN data (and in my
case spectral line data).
AIPS, AIPS++
00509
AIPS is currently the most important software package for MERLIN users
apart from Jodrell Bank 'internal' software. AIPS++, not included in
the response since I have not used it, will presumeably take over at
some future date.
05.03.2001 13:46:16
Report on Table: sources_change -- 1e
(ordered by software changed from)
1e -- 'Have you changed astronomical packages?' (Have you changed the
choice of astronomical package you are using for your work
during the last two years? If so, what was the change and
why did you make it?')
There are two reports for this question: one in order by software
changed FROM, the other in order by software changed TO.
From
Quest To Change Reason
AIPS
00081
MIRIAD ATNF and BIMA analysis need Miriad; it has some nice
features which AIPS doesn't have for general image
processing.
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