ANNOUNCE: FITS User's Guide version 4.0 Available

[Don Wells]

Dear friends of FITS,

"BMS" == Barry M Schlesinger <bschlesinger at nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov> writes:
BMS> Version 4.0 of the NASA/ADF FITS Support Office User's Guide to the
BMS> Flexible Image Transport System (FITS) is now available..
BMS> ftp://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/fits/users_guide.*

The FITS User's Guide is definitely a good thing, and users of the FITS
data format should study it. Newcomers to the world of FITS should pay
special attention to its treatments of FITS evolution, of FITS
work-in-progress and of the differences of FITS style present in
different parts of our community. Its recommended-practice advice should
be considered carefully by creators of astronomy datasystems and
archives.  Barry Schlesinger, the editor of the Guide, has worded his
discussions of these complex--and sometimes controversial--topics with
sensitivity, balance and fairness. I have a high regard for his work.

The FITS User's Guide was proposed at a meeting organized by the NASA
Astrophysics division and held in Annapolis, MD, in 1987. It was to
accompany the formal FITS standard; the idea was that there are many FITS
issues which need to be discussed as guidance for implementors and users,
but which don't fit into the FITS standard document.  The first version
of the Guide (edited by Barry Geldzahler) appeared circa 1989, eight
years ago. The successive releases, at intervals of several years, have
steadily expanded the coverage of the Guide and, with this Version 4.0,
the User's Guide can now claim to discuss--at some level--essentially
every issue which arises in the use of the FITS data format in
astronomy. It is greatly to the credit of the NASA Astrophysics division
that they not only had the vision to start this project, but that they
have also had the patience and faith to continue to operate the FITS
Support Office so that this evolutionary process could proceed year after
year. I hope that we will see, eventually, Version 5.0 of the Guide.  The
sci.astro.fits/fitsbits readership can contribute to this steady revision
and expansion of the FITS User's Guide by sending corrections,
suggestions and proposed new text to Barry Schlesinger at the Email
address given above.

-Don Wells (Chair, IAU FITS Working Group)
--
  Donald C. Wells         Associate Scientist         dwells at nrao.edu
                    http://fits.cv.nrao.edu/~dwells
  National Radio Astronomy Observatory                +1-804-296-0277
  520 Edgemont Road,   Charlottesville, Virginia       22903-2475 USA