[daip] Re: draft quarterly report

[Jim Ulvestad]

Somewhat inconsistent in whether or not you state the name of the
task.  Other comments below.

Eric Greisen wrote:

>AIPS:  2004 Quarter 2
>
>Key Developments
>
>1.   Updated the CookBook and created fully cross-linked html and pdf
>representations.  This was made possible in part by restoring the AIPS
>script that converts help files to html and then improving its
>capabilities.
>
>2.   The task that converts solution tables into the full calibration
>table was given a more powerful method to determine calibrations
>applying sources only to themselves.  The calibration table correction
>task was given new options to shift the source mean rather than
>apparent coordinate and to apply total atmospheric delay models.
>
Give the task a name--CLCAL

>
>3.   Source models for four string calibrators at the three highest
>VLA frequencies are now included with the AIPS distribution.  The new
>task CALRD reads them into a user's data area and the new verb CALDIR
>shows what is available.  Work to extend the selection of models has
>begun.
>
change "string"  phrase to "four primary flux and/or polarization 
calibrators"

>
>4.   A new task was written to use nearly simultaneous observations
>of multiple calibrators to determine a more precise calibration for
>the target source.  While less efficient in terms of time on the
>target source, this method will improve those observations that are
>limited by the atmosphere rather than simple signal-to-noise ratio.
>
Name of task?

>
>5.   The automatic update scripts (the "midnight job") was improved to
>perform several of the chores previously assigned to local AIPS
>managers to do by hand.  This includes updating the vocabulary of
>known verbs and adverbs, rebuilding the AIPS TV, and rebuilding
>certain fundamental control scripts.
>
>6.   A surprisingly powerful verb was added to AIPS to allow users to
>run non-AIPS commands directly on their computers while remaining
>inside AIPS.  Another new verb to generate random numbers was written
>and changes were made in the print tasks to make it easier to use AIPS
>print files in other programs.
>
>7.   A new task called FLAGR was created to introduce various methods
>of editing data automatically.  It is still in the preliminary testing
>stages with more algorithms still to be written.
>
>8.   In the first half of 2004, 141 sites downloaded the 31DEC03
>(frozen) version of AIPS and 466 downloaded the 31DEC04 (development)
>version.  A total of 471 different sites (separate IP addresses) made
>some use of the AIPS cvs facility, either during installation of
>31DEC04 or running the "midnight job" to update their copy of 31DEC04.
>  
>
Goals are a lot to get done in three months.  I would bet that item 4 is 
not going to
happen in the 3rd quarter.

>
>Goals for the Third Quarter 2004
>
>1.   Continue user support and bug fixes, as the major portion of AIPS 
>effort.
>
>2.   Provide support for pipeline data reduction, especially new
>automatic editing algorithms.
>
>3.   Add weight-based flagging to be able to use flag tables.
>
>4.   Produce more source models to include with AIPS distributions.
>
>5.   Test and implement binary distributions using the IBM Fortran
>compiler for Mac OS/X computers.
>
>6.   Improve atmospheric opacity modeling in VLBI calibration.
>
>7.   Work on solving positional errors in VLBA observations of
>satellites, beginning with correcting for gravitational bending in the
>Solar system rather than from infinity.
>
>8.   Begin investigations of new/improved imaging algorithms,
>including those dealing with spectral index and multiple pointings.
>  
>