I have recently installed Cygwin and IRAF without any hitches, other than the following. When I try to start cl I get the following error:

$ cl
ERROR: task `the' not found
called as: `cl ()'
Error while reading login.cl file - may need to rebuild with mkiraf
Fatal startup error. CL dies.

Any ideas?

Sorry for the delayed reply. The error message "task 'the' not found" makes me think that some sort of comment string is being interpreted as a command (e.g. a line beginning with the word 'the' in your login.cl or loginuser.cl file). You should check your login.cl file or perhaps do a new MKIRAF to recreate the file. If you use a loginuser.cl file check it to make sure all comment lines begin with a '#' character. There are additional files read during the startup process but these wouldn't normally have changed as part of the installation, with the exception perhaps of the hlib$extern.pkg file you might have edited to install a new package. If you still have problems, post back.

-Mike

Mike,

It was in fact extern.pkg that was the problem (a comment spilled over onto a new line, possibly due to wrapping). But it seems I have another now:

$ cl
**: 
      ^
ERROR: syntax error
     called as: `cl ()'
     called as: `cl ()'
Error while reading login.cl file - may need to rebuild with mkiraf
Fatal startup error.  CL dies.

I took another look at both login.cl and extern.pkg but I didn't notice anything straight off that might be problematic.

The installation guide I used to install IRAF is at http://www.iac.es/sieinvens/siepedia/pmwiki.php?n=HOWTOs.IrafCygwin

Thank you for your help and patience,
Conor

Hopefully you've found the problem by now, but I suspect it is something similar. The only place a ':' is used is in the 'imextn' setting of the login.cl file (which is normally commented out). A new MKIRAF command may clear things up.

-Mike

Hello,
I have exactly the same (last) problem:

$ cl
**:
^
ERROR: syntax error
called as: `cl ()'
called as: `cl ()'
Error while reading login.cl file - may need to rebuild with mkiraf
Fatal startup error. CL dies.

I have followed the same installation file. The only strange thing I can remember during installation was a lot of " tput: command not found" during installation. I tried rebuilding through mkiraf but nothing, still the same error.
Any help will be very much appreciated.

My first question is whether you have the 'tcsh' installed as part of your Cygwin setup? If not, the syntax error might be because you're using the default Bash shell to run the C-shell iraf scripts. The 'tput' commands in the install script are used to highlight text, complaints about them being missing might mean a problem with the tcsh.

Otherwise, you can add the command "d_trace" at the top your login.cl file to trace startup execution from that point: If the error occurs before you see any debug output there is probably an error in the extern.pkg file, otherwise it may be in the login.cl file (either because of an edit you made or something done during the install when the template was made).

-Mike

Hi Mike,
finally I un-installed Cygwin and re-installed IRAF in FEDORA 9 (I've found a great script for installing IRAF automatically here: http://www.mail-archive.com/fedora-astronomy-list@redhat.com/msg00096.html).
Anyway I did had tcsh installed and in no way had I messed with the login.cl file. I tried the mkiraf command a few times but didn't help.
I'm sorry I didn't wait for your response but I needed to work! I'm sure this thread will help someone though.
Cheers!
Gabriel

Good morning!

I am a beginner user of IRAF, and I am using it on Gygwin on the base of the indications reported on the on-line guide mentioned both by Conor and Gabriel users.

I am very close to use IRAF finally, but...I have exactly the same problem reported by Gabriel while I am launching ECL: the same "sintax error" message related to the login.cl file.

I even tried to rebuild the login file several times through "mkiraf", but no way.

Gabriel solved the problem installing IRAF elsewhere, so my problem on Cygwin seems not to have a solution yet: could anyone help me, suggesting what to do? I even didn't understand the possible solution provided to Conor by Mike: what to do exactly?

Many thanks,
Mario

Hola Mario (with that name I'm guessing you speak spanish; I'm from Argentina :D),

I can't help you with the Cygwin problem, because I finally never used it, but if you want to try something else I refer you to this post on a blog I created to help you run IRAF inside FEDORA 9 installed inside VirtualBox, so you can interact with Windows (which it's what you use if you are trying to install Cygwin) I use it and it works like a charm: http://gabriel-ip.blogspot.com/ (it's in english and in spanish)

Good luck!

Saludos,
Gabriel

I'm not sure what else I can add to earlier comments in the thread. Use the command 'which csh' to see whether or not you have a C-shell installed on your system, a 'command not found' means you need to go back to the Cygwin setup and install 'tcsh' and the error is caused by executing the Bash shell on the (C-shell) startup script.

If you do have a C-shell installed, you can trace exactly where the error comes from using the command

% csh -x /usr/local/bin/cl

Post the results if this produces the same error.

-Mike

Dear Mike,

thank you very much for your reply.

I followed your instructions.

1) C-shell is installed on my system

2) I executed the command

% csh -x /usr/local/bin/cl

This produces the same error:

**:
     ^
ERROR: syntax error
called as: `cl ()'
called as: `cl ()'
Error while reading login.cl file - may need to rebuild with mkiraf
Fatal startup error. CL dies. 

You must excuse me, but I don't know how to show you here what i see on my screen after the execution of that command, because I don't know how to redirect to a txt file all the content I read in the shell (and not only the output result of the command, i.e. in this case the 'syntax error' written above) . I made a 'print screen' and saved it as a jpg. May I send you that? Or, please, give me any help.

Thanks a lot

Mario

Feel free to send me the jpg, if there is a lot of output from the command you can use 'tee' to save all the output, e.g.

csh -x /usr/local/bin/cl |& tee spool

Then just send/post the 'spool' file that is created.

-Mike

Hello
I have the same problem, I installed iraf in cygwin and it worked, but for some unknown reason, now it do not work, try reinstalling did not work.
My starx is functional, as well as the xgterm. I tried mkiraf do not solve the problem, and tried the /iraf/iraf/bin.cygwin/x_system.e and
>
was displayed.

He tells me the following error:

$ cl
**:
^
ERROR: syntax error
called as: `cl`
called as: `cl`
Error while reading login.cl file - may be to rebuild whit mkiraf
Fatal startup error. CL dies.

Helpme please.
Isaías Rojas

I executed the command
Code:
% csh -x /usr/local/bin/cl

This produces the following:

set cl_binary = ecl.e
if ( 'echo $0 |egrep vo' != ) then
echo /usr/local/bin/cl
if ( 'echo $0 |egrep ecl' != ) then
echo /usr/local/bin/cl
egrep vo
if ( 0 > 0) then
set d_iraf = /iraf/iraf/
if ( 0 ) then
if ( 0 == 0 ) then
setenv iraf /iraf/iraf/
endif
if ( 0 > 0) then
if ( 0 ) then
if ( ! 0 ) then
set os_mash = 'uname -s | tr '[a-z]' | cut -c1-6'
uname -s
tr [A-Z] [a-z]
cut -c1-6
if ( - f /etc/redhad-release ) then
set mash = 'uname -s | tr ' [A-Z]' '[a-z]'
uname -s
tr [A-Z] [a-z]
endif
if ( cygwin_nt-5.1 == darwin ) then
if ( cygwin == cygwin ) then
setenv mash cygwin
endif
if ( -e /iraf/iraf//bin.cygwin_nt-5.1/ecl.e ) then
if ( -e /iraf/iraf//bin.freebsd/ecl.e ) then
if ( -e /iraf/iraf//bin.macosx/ecl.e ) then
if ( -e /iraf/iraf//bin.macintel/ecl.e ) then
if ( -e /iraf/iraf//bin.cygwin/ecl.e ) then
set MACH = cygwin
else if ( -e /iraf/iraf//bin.linux/ecl.e ) then
endif
if ( 0 && ! ( 0 ) ) then
if ( 0 ) then
if ( cygwin == freebsd ) then
if ( cygwin == linux ) then
if ( cygwin == redhad ) then
if ( cygwin == linuxppc ) then
if ( cygwin == macosx ) then
if ( cygwin == macintel ) then
if ( cygwin == cygwin ) then
setenv IRAFARCH cygwin
else if ( cygwin == sunos ) then
if ( cygwin == redhad || cygwin == linux || cygwin == linuxppc ) then
setenv arch.cygwin
setenv IRAFBIN /iraf/iraf//bin.cygwin/
set file = /iraf/iraf//bin.cygwin/ecl.e
exc /iraf/iraf//bin.cygwin/ecl.e
/iraf/iraf//bin.cygwin/ecl.e
$
**:
^
ERROR: syntax error
called as: `cl ()'
called as: `cl ()'
Error while reading login.cl file - may need to rebuild with mkiraf
Fatal startup error. CL dies.

The syntax error appears to happen when the hlib$extern.pkg file uses the 'dos' formatted newlines, i.e. the CR-NL and not the unix NL. You can convert this using the command 'dos2unix' if it is available, or more directly with

> cd $iraf/unix/hlib
> tr -d '\15\32' < extern.pkg > e ; mv e extern.pkg

If you haven't installed any external packages then simply deleting all of the lines in the extern.pkg file should let you log into the CL.

-Mike

Hi!
I did:

cd $ iraf / unix / hLib

and does not work, says:

No such file or directory

I did:

$ Cd / iraf / iraf / unix / hLib
$ Tr-d '\ 15 \ 32' <extern.pkg> e; mv and extern.pkg

CL commands and make the same mistake.
Should I delete all lines in extern.pkg or only those blank?
Thank you.
Isaias Rojas

The 'hlib' directory is the same place where you earlier ran the install script, and assuming the spaces and capital letters in your post aren't literally there, the path should be /iraf/iraf/unix/hlib (i.e the unix/hlib subdirectory of the iraf root). Deleting only the blank lines won't help, you need to remove the CR chars (i.e. '\r') from the file using the commands I mentioned or if you have no packages then remove all the lines.

In any case, I've fixed this for the next release so the CR-NL format is allowed in script text files.

Indeed the file "extern.pkg" is in '/iraf/iraf/unix/hLib' but found nothing like '\r' and I know of are the "CR chars". My file "extern.pkg" I copied from http://www.iac.es/sieinvens/siepedia/pmwiki.php?n=HOWTOs.IrafCygwin and reads as follows:

# External (non core-system) packages. To install a new package, add the
# two statements to define the package root directory and package task,
# then add the package helpdb to the 'helpdb' list.

reset noao = iraf$noao/
task noao.pkg = noao$noao.cl

reset tables = /iraf/extern/tables/
task tables.pkg = tables$tables.cl

reset stsdas = /iraf/extern/stsdas/
task stsdas.pkg = stsdas$stsdas.cl

reset nmisc = /iraf/extern/nmisc/
task nmisc.pkg = nmisc$nmisc.cl

reset ctio = /iraf/extern/ctio/
task ctio.pkg = ctio$ctio.cl

reset gemini = /iraf/extern/gemini/
task gemini.pkg = gemini$gemini.cl

reset fitsutil = /iraf/extern/fitsutil/
task fitsutil.pkg = fitsutil$fitsutil.cl

reset helpdb = "lib$helpdb.mip\
,noao$lib/helpdb.mip\
,tables$lib/helpdb.mip\
,stsdas$lib/helpdb.mip\
,nmisc$lib/helpdb.mip\
,ctio$lib/helpdb.mip\
,gemini$lib/helpdb.mip\
,fitsutil$lib/helpdb.mip\
"

keep

When I delete everything and 'CL' shows:

NOAO/IRAFNET PC-IRAF Revision 2.14.1 Mon Sep 15 10:12:05 MST 2008
This is the RELEASED version of IRAF V2.14 supporting PC systems.

Welcome to IRAF. To list the available commands, type ? or ??. To get
detailed information about a command, type `help <command>'. To run a
command or load a package, type its name. Type `bye' to exit a
package, or `logout' to get out of the CL. Type `news' to find out
what is new in the version of the system you are using.

Visit http://iraf.net if you have questions or to report problems.

The following commands or packages are currently defined:

ERROR: task `noao' not found
called as: `cl ()'
Error while reading login.cl file - may need to rebuild with mkiraf
Fatal startup error. CL dies.

I remade "mkiraf" but does not change the result. Thanks for the help, I look forward to new ideas.
Isaías

Ahhh. I forgot the NOAO package is declared in there and loaded by your login.cl, so a completely empty extern.pkg won't work. You won't actually see the chars '\r' in the file, just as you wouldn't see '\n' for the newlines. However, the 'tr' command (or 'dos2unix' which should be available in cygwin) will remove them. Note that if you create the file by hand, some editors may automatically write the '\r\n', as long as you're seeing the syntax error you've probably still got the chars in there.

One way to view the characters in the file explicitly is with the command

% od -c extern.pkg

The end of lines should show up a '\n' and you won't see any '\r'

Ok, I've seen the characters "\r \n" and the with 'tr' code have been left as just "\ n", but when I "CL" sent the following:

INTERNAL ERROR: parser gagged
called as: `cl () '
called as: `cl () '
Error while reading file login.cl - may need to rebuild with mkiraf
Fatal startup error. CL dies.

Thanks!
What I try now?
Isaías

This usually means there is no newline following the 'keep' statement, i.e. the file ends with an EOF before seeing a newline. Add a blank line to the end of the file usually fixes it, some editors (e.g. 'emacs') have a mode where no newline is added.

Indeed this is the error!!, also saw http://iraf.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=140218, now is working again.
Thank you very much!
Isaías

Glad to hear it. I'll see if I can patch the system to avoid this problem as I did for the DOS-style formatting.