IRAF V2.11.2 patch released

Doug Tody wrote on Aug 21, 1999

IRAF V2.11.2 PATCH RELEASED
August 21, 1999

A new version of IRAF, V2.11.2, is now available for selected platforms.
Technically this is a patch, but it can almost be considered a new version
due to all the changes; something like 1350 files were modified for this
release.  Nonetheless, as a patch, changes to applications have been
minimized so that the system can be safely updated without affecting usage
in any major way (between major IRAF releases, major changes to IRAF
applications appear first in separately installed external packages).

V2.11.2 has been beta tested for the past month at NOAO, STScI, and other
IRAF development sites without incident.  V2.11.2 compatible updates to
layered IRAF packages such as STSDAS, TABLES, and XRAY are being prepared
and will be available shortly.  Most older IRAF external packages should
continue to work fine with V2.11.2, although new versions may be required
to take full advantage of the features of V2.11.2, especially Y2K support.

Our intention is to release this patch for all supported IRAF platforms.
This first release supports all Sun sparc systems (SunOS, and Solaris
2.5.1, 2.6, 2.7, Solaris 7), Digital Unix 4.0 (now Compaq Tru64), OpenVMS
running on the Alpha chip, and VAX/VMS.  This odd collection of platforms
is a reflection of the internal operational priorities of the institutions
which develop IRAF.  Over the coming months we will release support for
the remaining IRAF platforms as soon as we can get to it.  PC-IRAF is the
highest priority, followed by HP/UX, IRIX, and AIX.

What is new in V2.11.2?  Most important, or at least necessary, is Y2K
support.  IRAF was tested for Y2K bugs and indeed a few were found; the
patch fixes all that we know about.  Some could lead to program crashes
(e.g. imheader), so you will definitely want to update.  Extensive testing
has been performed with the clock set forward.  See the URL
http://iraf.noao.edu/iraf/web/projects/y2k/ for details on the Y2K testing
and certification of IRAF.  There were many other more interesting changes,
including some feature enhancements, performance enhancements, and bug
fixes.

For a detailed list of what V2.11.2 provides see the following URL:

    http://iraf.noao.edu/v2112revs.html

To upgrade to V2.11.2 you can either do a full install (all the distribution
files are being regenerated), or apply a patch.  Note that the patch will
modify some site specific configuration files, and you will definitely
want to read the README file for each platform to make the upgrade go
smoothly.  Here are URLs for the README files for the three platforms for
which the patch has thus far been released:

    ftp://iraf.noao.edu/iraf/v211/SSOL/README
    ftp://iraf.noao.edu/iraf/v211/DUNX/README
    ftp://iraf.noao.edu/iraf/v211/VMS7/README

Additional announcements will be issued as patches (or ports) are released
for the remaining IRAF platforms.

The adass.iraf.announce list is used only for infrequent messages announcing
new software or related products from any of the sites developing software
for IRAF.  For more in-depth information on IRAF developments please see
the IRAF web page on iraf.noao.edu, or subscribe to one of the more
technical mailing lists, such as adass.iraf.system or
adass.iraf.applications.  One can subscribe or unsubcribe to adass or iraf
mailing lists either from the IRAF web pages, or by sending email to
listproc@iraf.noao.edu.

August 21, 1999

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Last post on Aug 21, 1999