64-bit integers in FITS

[William Pence]

Rob Seaman wrote:

> However, can anybody suggest a current need for images with 64 bit
> pixels?  ...and do tables and images have to support the same set of
> datatypes?  "Exotic" image data arrays are likely to be written as
> binary tables anyway.

>From the implementation point of view, a FITS image is just a special
case of a table with 1 row and 1 vector column.  So if one is going to
support 64-bit integer table columns, then very little else needs to be
added to support 64-bit images.

____________________________________________________________________
Dr. William Pence                          pence at tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov
NASA/GSFC Code 662         HEASARC         +1-301-286-4599 (voice)     
Greenbelt MD 20771                         +1-301-286-1684 (fax)