Quiz Answer Key

1) External packages can be run/compiled only when installed in the main system by the IRAF site manager, i.e. user cannot declare or build private packages.


False. Private external packes may be declared in the user's login.cl or loginuser.cl file and will be loaded when first logging into the CL as part of the user package. To build an external package privately, declare the path to the package root directory as a unix environment variable and include the trailing '/' character, e.g.

% setenv mypkg /home/me/iraf/mypkg/


2) All IRAF facilities will continue to run without any special action taken after a major OS upgrade (e.g. Solaris 2.5 to 2.6).


False. A major OS upgrade usually rebuilds system directories such as /dev and /include, where IRAF installs the fifo pipes for SAOimage or the vital /usr/include/iraf.h link. In most cases IRAF will continue to run because the local bin directory containing the 'cl' command is restored from a backup, but services like IRAF networking or image display may fail. The solution is simply to rerun the install script after the OS upgrade. Note also that Solaris 2.6 requires IRAF V2.11.1 since the iraf shared image for 2.6 wasn't available until that patch.


3) IRAF plots can be converted to PS/EPS disk files.


True. The psump device creates a Postscript file in /tmp called psdumpXXX.ps containing the PS normally sent to the printer, device eps creates a file sgiXXX.eps in the current directory containing an EPS file.


4) IMFORT tasks can read/write FITS files.


False. The FITS kernel is only implemeted for SPP programs, IMFORT tasks needing FITS access can use the FITSIO library. Public access to the IMIO (and other) interfaces will be supported as part of the OpenIRAF initiative.


5) XImtool requires private fifo pipes when multiple users will be using it on the same machine.


False. SAOimage is the only server requiring fifo pipes. XImtool/SAOtng will attempt to use a unique unix socket by default before falling back to the /dev fifos.


6) The SOFTOOLS package doesn't need to be loaded before compiling an IRAF package or IMFORT program under the CL.


True. XC/MKPKG are declared as foreign tasks in the user's login.cl file and as such are always available, whether logged into the CL or not.


7) Upgrading to an IRAF patch version (e.g. V2.11.1) requires only that the patch file from our archive be applied to an existing installation.


False. The patch files only update the source tree (parameter files, program source, etc), the full patch requires that a full set of core system and NOAO package binaries also be installed to pick up changes in the runtime system. External packages should also be relinked at this time to propogate system changes to those packages as well.


8) GCC is a supported compiler for platforms other than PC-IRAF.


False. Trick question since GCC is only supported for PC-IRAF, however it can be made to work on systems such as SunOS/Solaris.


9) At most four processes may be in the CL process cache at any time.


False. The maximum is 10, the minimum is 2. The actual size is controlled by the cl.szprcache parameter with limits silently enforced.


10) The correct flag to enable debugging when using XC or FC for IMFORT programs is "-g".


False. The flag implemented by the XC IRAF compiler is really -x, "-g" is passed through on most systems and will usually work, but isn't portable and may have side effects.


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11) Which two files control the display frame buffer configuration options (i.e. when you set stdimage to imt800 which two files define this frame buffer for both the client and server)?


dev$graphcap and /usr/local/lib/imtoolrc. The graphcap file defines the frame buffer configurations for the client display code, the imtoolrc file defines them for the server. For information on creating custom frame buffers see the FAQ on the topic


12) dev$tapecap parameters are described in the program comments of which file?


$iraf/unix/os/zfiomt.c. This is the magnetic tape driver for the system.


13) The escaped CL command "!!ls" (two exclamation marks are intentional) is run in what kind of shell?


A Bourne shell. Normal CL escape commands and foreign tasks are run in the type of shell defined by your host SHELL variable, normally a csh. With two exclamation points the command is run using /bin/sh, the Bourne shell. (See os$zoscmd.c)


14) Which file needs to be edited to enable graphics hardcopy output?


dev$graphcap. For information on creating new device entries see the FAQ on the topic


15) The list of available documentation is available from which file in our ftp archive?


/iraf/docs/README.


16) Which CL environment variable controls the size of the graphics buffer?


cmbuflen. The size of the graphics buffer can be increased by uncommenting and editing the value set in your login.cl file. For large GKIMOSAIC plots, detailed contours, etc the buffer may need to increased to avoid truncating the plot.


17) Which CL environment variable controls the size of maximum allowable image headers?


min_lenuserarea. The default value of 64000 is large enough to hold about 800 user keywords, like the graphics buffer it's size may be increased by editing the login.cl file.


18) Which CL environment variable controls the axis plot colors (labels, ticmarks, etc) in an XGterm?


glbcolor. For information on setting or changing the colors see the FAQ on the topic


19) Site-wide user defaults for stdplot, stdimage, buffer sizes, etc are set in which file?


hlib$zzsetenv.def. This file cna be used to set the global defaults for all configurable IRAF parameters, values will be overridden by those set in a login.cl or loginuser.cl file.


20) If not defined in the user's environment, on startup IRAF tasks get the location of the iraf root directory and other key variables like 'tmp$' from which file?


/usr/include/iraf.h. This file is edited with the iraf root path when the install script is run and provides system pathnames when initializing IRAF tasks. It is also a key file for IRAF networking which is one reason the install script must be run on each client node.


21) If your answer to (9) above is true, what is the minimum number of processes in the cache? If false, what is the maximum? Credit will be given for correct answers even if (9) was incorrect.


2 or 10. The actual size of the cache is controlled by the CL szprcache parameter, the limits are enforced silently in the code.


22) What is the default inet socket port for XImtool connections?


5137. XImtool will listen simultaneously for connections on unix sockets (which IRAF uses by default), fifo pipes and inet sockets. The ability to display to an inet socket means you display to an ximtool running anywhere on the internet. For example, before logging into the CL do
setenv IMTDEV inet:5137:foo.bar.edu
will cause the display to appear on an XImtool running at node foo.bar.edu.


23) What is ICE? (acronym value)


IRAF Control Environment. ICE is the system used to do data aquisition within IRAF at Kitt Peak and other observatories. For further information on ICE feel free to write us.


24) What is CDL? (acronym value)


Client Display Library. The CDL is a programming interface to allow host C or Fortran programs to display images and graphics overlays to display servers such as Ximtool and SAOimage/SAOtng. For more information see the recent announcement for the package.


25) What is the maximum number of nodes that can be specified in a V2.11 dev$hosts file?


320. Seems an odd number, this is defined by the sys$ki/ki.h MAX_NODES parameter. This is a hardwired value, to increase it the system needs to be relinked.


26) Which file defines the top-level packages seen in the CL login menu?


hlib$clpackage.cl. This file defines the default package loaded when the CL starts up, i.e. the tasks you see on the menu when you first log in. It includes any packages declared in the hlib$extern.pkg file.


27) What is the only assembly code source file required for each iraf port?


unix$as/zsvjmp.s. This routine is needed by IRAF error recovery in order to exit a task and return control to the IRAF task main procedure where cleanup can be done. the


28) What is the maximum number of parameters a task may have?


100. Most tasks don't come close to this limit, however there are one or two hidden psets that push this. The value is set in the G_MAXPARAM parameter in cl$eparam.h.


29) Which XC flag is used to link programs so the IRAF shared library (on platforms where used) is ignored?


'-z'. This flag should be used when linking programs for debugging since it will allow you to trace into shared library procedures in the VOS.


30) In which directory do the SGI translator sources live?


unix$gdev/sgidev. The SGI translators convert the SGI metacode from the graphics system into device-dependent printer languages such as Postscript, HP LaserJet, etc.

IRAF NOAO