IDL 8.2 Service Pack 2 Release Notes

New Features in IDL 8.2.2

For additional information on new features in the IDL 8.2.2 release, see the "What's New" topic in IDL Help.

New Routines: BOXPLOT allows you to create box and whiskers plots based on your input array and CREATEBOXPLOTDATA generates data for use in the BOXPLOT function.
New Routines: TIC and TOC allow you to profile the running times of your IDL programs.
The RANDOMN and RANDOMU functions now use the Mersenne Twister algorithm.
The new Constant System Variable, !CONST, is an IDL structure that contains commonly-used physical constants.
The CURRENT keyword to the graphics functions has been upgraded to allow you to pass in a reference to an existing graphic.
When displaying images that have a map projection, IDL will now automatically set the map limit to the image extent.
A new POSITION property has been added to all graphics objects.
You can now display a map horizon on all map projections. The MAP and MAPGRID functions have three new properties: HORIZON_COLOR, HORIZON_LINESTYLE, and HORIZON_THICK.
The startup speed for all graphics functions has been improved. The speed of the PLOT function has also been significantly improved.
With IDLgrPlot, you can now set HISTOGRAM = 2 to extend the "stairstep" lines past the ends of the data.
Both PLOT and BARPLOT have a new HISTOGRAM property. PLOT also has a new STAIRSTEP property
The IMAGE_THRESHOLD algorithms have been updated.
ROUTINE_FILEPATH Function: If no argument is given to ROUTINE_FILEPATH, the function will automatically return the full path to the currently-scoped routine.
The Workbench Editor has been updated to better format pasted blocks of code. Additional updates allow the editor to automatically close Begin/End blocks of code.

Backward-Compatibility Issues in IDL 8.2.2

Change request ID numbers are included where applicable.

All Platforms

ID	Description
n/a	IDL 8.2 Code SAVE Files Are Not Compatible with Previous IDL Versions The IDL Save file revision level was increased from 10 to 11 because of a bug fix (CR 62744). Save files that contain IDL code and that were created with IDL 8.2 cannot be restored in previous versions of IDL. If you want to distribute a Save file to other users who may only have IDL 8.0 or IDL 8.1, create your Save file using one of these earlier IDL versions. Note: This change does not affect older Code SAVE files or Save files that contain data. These files can still be restored in IDL 8.2.
n/a	IDL Workspace Migration IDL does not automatically update the IDL workspace between releases. After upgrading to a new IDL version, you have the following options: Create a new workspace to use with the new IDL version. You will need to reset any IDL Workbench preferences you may have set in the old version. Continue using the old workspace without modification. New views may not be available. Use the Window > Show View > Other menu option to update the workspace to specify the views you want to display.
n/a	IDL Core Preference Migration IDL does not automatically migrate IDL core preferences between releases. After upgrading IDL to a new version, you should: Reset any IDL core preferences you want to use with the new IDL version by using the Preferences dialog or the PREF_SET routine.
n/a	New Process for Debugging Shared Library Code To debug your shared library code, you need to attach your debugger (gdb, Visual Studio, etc.) to the appropriate process. On 32-bit Windows, use Visual Studio to select Attach to Process and choose the idl_ipserver.exe process. On 64-bit Windows, use Visual Studio and attach to the idlde process. On Unix, use gdb or dbx, along with the ps command to retrieve the ID of the idlde process, then attach your debugger to that process ID. If you are not using the IDL Workbench, continue to connect to the idl process.
n/a	Additional Documentation is Provided In Acrobat (PDF) Documents The IDL 8.2 online help contains all the routines and functions in the IDL language, including the new Graphics routines and examples. Documentation that does not exist in the online help is provided in fully searchable PDF format as part of the IDL installation, located in idl82\help\pdf.

Windows

ID	Description
65808	TABLE WIDGET ALL_EVENTS Keyword Change for Windows On Windows platforms, the ALL_EVENTS keyword now works as it does in UNIX platforms, returning cell events with keyboard arrow navigation.

Known Problems in IDL 8.2 and 8.2 Service Pack 2

Change request ID numbers are included where applicable.

All Platforms

ID	Description
42545	WIDGET_TREE Drop Event Can Cause IDL to Crash if an Error Exists in the DRAG_NOTIFY Callback Routine If there is an error (such as an undefined variable) in the custom DRAG_NOTIFY callback routine, IDL may freeze or crash since the error halts execution in the child routine and IDL cannot return to the calling function. Workaround: Handle potential problems in the callback routine by including CATCH statements in your code. See the documentation topic "Responding to Drag Notifications (Callbacks)" for more information.
48550	The STATUS Keyword for EXIT Does Not Work in IDL Workbench The EXIT procedure quits the IDL Workbench and exits back to the operating system. IDL does not correctly return the exit status set by the STATUS keyword.
48917 49373 55393	Breakpoints in Files Opened via Links, Shortcuts, or Alternate Paths To improve performance, IDL always compiles the first version of a file it finds in its path. If you open a file in the editor and set a breakpoint, then compile from a version of the same file with a different path, IDL will not assume that the two files are the same. As a result, IDL will not stop at the breakpoint set in the second file. Alternate paths to the same file can be constructed via UNIX links, Windows shortcuts, mapped drives, or UNC paths. Workaround: Make sure that the full path to the file in which you set the breakpoint is the same as the full path to the compiled file. If you use the IDL Workbench, compiling using the Workbench menus or toolbars will ensure that the same path is used for compilation and debugging.
49236	Deleting a Project or a Directory Within a Project While the Project Is Open Causes Exceptions when the Workbench Exits When a project file or a directory within a project is deleted from outside the Workbench (for example, from Windows Project Explorer) while the project is open, a warning message may be issued while the Workbench is still running. An exception may occur on exiting the Workbench.
51318 51320 51322	Formatter Preferences for Keywords, System Variables, and Structure and Class Names are Ignored by the Source→Format Command The keyword, system variable, and structure and class name formatting preferences set on the IDL > Formatter preference page are not applied when the code is highlighted and the Source > Format command is selected.
57427	Internationalization: Licensing Failure Licensing fails if IDL is installed in a location with an extended ASCII character set.
58532	Default UTF-8 Encoding is Corrupting .pro Files with Non-English Characters Non-English characters are converted to symbols when imported into the IDL Workbench. Importing a .pro file containing non-English characters in IDL permanently corrupts the file with bad characters. Workaround: Before opening a file or before saving an open file, change the file encoding to ISO-8859-1 for Spanish or German, or to Shift-JIS for Japanese. To change the encoding for an individual file, open the file in an IDL editor, then select File > Properties. In the Resources dialog box, change the 6Text file encoding preference. To change the default encoding preference for IDL, select Window > Preferences. In the Preferences dialog box, choose General > Workspace. Change the Text file encoding preference.
57214 58285 58839	IDL Crashes on Macintosh and UNIX When Performing Graphics Operations Where GL Drivers are Present Possible workaround: Rename the gl_driver.so file (located in bin\bin.<platform>) to gl_driver.ba.
60473	Accessing Preferences while IDL is Busy May Hang Workbench Trying to change Preferences while IDL is busy (for example, when a lengthy command is being executed) may cause the Workbench to hang.
60525	Help May Not Display In Viewer In rare cases, the online help may not display correctly in the IDL Help viewer. Workaround: Open a browser and navigate to IDL82\help\online_help\IDL\idl.html in your IDL installation.
61842	IDL on Windows 7 May Have Unpredictable Behavior When Using Graphics The cause may be graphics cards that are unsupported in Windows 7. Please see a list of supported graphics cards on the Microsoft.com website. You may want to upgrade your graphic driver or switch the IDL Graphics preference to use software rendering.
62566	GRIB_OPEN Fails with "~" tilde Character in File Path Workaround: Use fully qualified path.
63902 52705	Using the IDL_Java Bridge Causes the Workbench to Ignore the Current Directory in CLASSPATH Workaround: Copy the .class file to any other directory explicitly listed in CLASSPATH.
64864	On Windows and Solaris, Some OPeNDAP Functionality Does Not Work with NetCDF Windows and Solaris users cannot take advantage of OPeNDAP functionality when using NetCDF.

Macintosh Platforms

ID	Description
60599	On Macintosh OS, Only One Workbench Instance Can Run at a Time Even if the preference "Prompt for workspace on startup" is set and multiple workspaces are available, only one instance will run. Workaround: Run the Workbench from the init script located in the idlde.darwin.x86_64.app/Contents/MacOS directory of your IDL installation.
63368	Time Machine Errors Can Freeze the IDL Workbench Workaround: Restart Time Machine. For additional information, see http://www.exelisvis.com/Support/HelpArticleDetail/ArticleId/5251/IDL-8-2-Time-Machine-Error-Messages-in-IDL.aspx
64149	Widget Interface Loses Focus When Selection is Made in a Drop-down List Workaround: In X11 Preferences, enable "Click-through Inactive Windows"
67319 67320	(Service Pack 1) Graphics Rendering Causes Memory and Device Errors XQuartz version 2.7.2 causes these error messages when creating IDL Graphics. When IDL is installed, the Macintosh operating system may direct you to install the most recent version of XQuartz. Workaround: Use XQuartz version 2.7.1 or 2.7.3 instead of version 2.7.2.

Windows Platforms

ID	Description
27165	Using DIALOG_PICKFILE with the MULTIPLE Keyword Limits the Maximum nFiles or Maximum nBytes for a File Array When attempting to open multiple files using DIALOG_PICKFILE, the operating system has a maximum buffer of 32767 bytes.
46816	Installation Program Failures: Error 1719 On some systems, the IDL installation program may exit with "Error 1719. Windows Installer service could not be accessed. Contact your support personnel to verify that it is properly registered and enabled." Workaround: Restart the IDL installer. If installation still fails, reboot the computer and restart the installer. Background: This error occurs when the Microsoft installer engine is older than the version required by the IDL installation package. In this situation, the IDL installer updates the installer engine. In some cases, the installation procedure may proceed; in others, you may need to restart the installer or the operating system.
47445	Export Bridge Instantiation Object Creation Failure with Embedded License Attempting to create an export object with an embedded license fails when no printer is set up. Workaround: Install and set up a printer before running IDL.
48454	WIDGET_TIMER Can Cause Applications To Freeze Until An Event Is Sent To The Application WIDGET_TIMER events fail after 10 events. This problem happens in the following cases: Timer events are chained together by setting the next timer within the handling of the current timer and before the "work" section of the event handler is performed. The next timer goes off during the current timer event processing (for example, during a lengthy calculation). Workaround: Chain timer events by setting the next timer after any computations are completed. For smoother performance, set the next timer based on how long the computations execute, which accounts for variances in machine speed. For example, to fire the timer once every second, set the next timer to 1.0 - (time to perform computation)
49641	Updating Edited Variable Values is Slow While IDL is Busy or Blocking If you edit a variable value using the IDL Workbench Variables view while IDL is busy (for example, when a lengthy command is being executed, or when a widget application is blocking), it may appear that the variable is not being updated. The new variable value is displayed when IDL is no longer busy. (Related to ID 49604.)
65745	Windows May Stop Displaying IDL Help Workaround: On Windows 7, if IDL Help does not display correctly, upgrade your IE version. On XP systems, try restarting the IDL Help.
66357	Installing into a Directory Named with Multibyte Characters May Cause the IDL Workbench to Not Launch If you are installing IDL into a directory that contains multibyte characters, path names in the idlde.ini file may be truncated. Workaround for 32-bit systems: In the <install_dir>\IDL82\bin\bin.x86\idlde.ini file, edit the following lines: Line 2 should read: <install_dir>\IDL82\bin\bin.x86\jre\bin Line 14 should read: Dosgi.sharedConfiguration.area=<install_dir>\IDL82\bin\bin.x86\configuration Workaround for 64-bit systems: In the <install_dir>\IDL82\bin\bin.x86_64\idlde.ini file, edit the following lines: Line 2 should read: <install_dir>\IDL82\bin\bin.x86_64\jre\bin Line 14 should read: Dosgi.sharedConfiguration.area=<install_dir>\IDL82\bin\bin.x86_64\configuration
66363	Executable for a C++ Project that Uses COM_idl_connect.tlb Needs to be in \bin directory to Run If you create a C++ project that uses COM_idl_connect.tlb, the .exe must be installed in install_dir\bin\bin.x86 or install_dir\bin\bin.x86_64 to run. Alternatively, you can add the install path to the PATH environment variable.

UNIX Platforms

ID	Description
30564	DIALOG_PRINTERSETUP Causes IDL to Hang When Called from a Modal Widget This is a known problem with no known workarounds except to use DIALOG_PRINTERSETUP with a non-modal widget.
41964	IDL Does Not Run in Security Enhanced Linux Some recent versions of Linux implement mandatory access control in the Linux kernel using the Linux Security Modules framework. IDL will not run in such an environment without a modification to the security context for the IDL binaries. Workaround: Either disable SELinux or modify the default security context for IDL. See Help Article 3092 for details.
43301	Upper Left Corner of Tree Widget is Never a Valid Drop Zone When the ability to drag and drop tree widget nodes has been enabled, the UNIX tree widget does not recognize the upper left corner of the widget as a valid drop zone. This area typically extends over the icons of the first two nodes (but not the labels). This is a vendor issue. You can drop items onto the first two nodes by moving the cursor over the labels instead of the icons.
55427	IDL Dataminer Requires libstdc++5.0 Third-party libraries used by the IDL Dataminer module require a library that may not be available by default on some newer Linux systems. Attempting to run the IDL Dataminer may cause IDL to issue an error similar to the following: % DLM_LOAD: Error loading sharable executable. Symbol: IDL_Load, File =/rsi/qa/unix/idl71/bin/bin.linux.x86_64/idl_dataminer.so libstdc++.so.5: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory % Execution halted at: $MAIN$ You will need to install the appropriate libstdc++ compatible library for your platform.
55537	IDLnetURL Objects with ENCODE Property Fails on Linux 32-Bit Using IDLnetURL with the ENCODE property set to a value other than 0 fails on 32-bit Linux systems.
57381	Missing 64-bit Library IDL requires a 64-bit version of libXp. Red Hat-based Linux distributions such as RHEL and Fedora may not install this library by default. On Red Hat you can obtain this library using the following command: yum install libXp.x86_64
58106	DIALOG_PRINTERSETUP Crashes on Linux 64-bit running in the Workbench Calling DIALOG_PRINTERSETUP from the Workbench causes 64-bit IDL to crash. Workaround: To set up a printer, launch IDL in command line mode and run DIALOG_PRINTERSETUP. Once you have set up a printer, the information is cached in your home directory. Then printed IDL programs will go to the appropriate printer regardless of whether you are running the Workbench or command line IDL.
58460	IDL Graphics Cause Crash in Ubuntu Versions of UNIX Recent versions of Ubuntu and other Debian-based Linux distributions may not ship with the libstdc++.so.6 library, which is required by Xerces. You will need to download this library and install it in the /bin/bin.linux.x86 directory of your IDL installation. (On 64-bit installations, this directory is /bin/bin.linux.x86_64.)
59497	IDL Graphics Fail with Software Rendering on Linux IDL graphics in the Workbench in software rendering mode may fail on Linux machines if the display is local and Xinerama is not enabled. Workaround: Configure Xinerama on the system or run from the IDL command line.
62902	Changes in Fedora 15 and Redhat 6.1 and Later Cause Licensing Issues According to http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Features/ConsistentNetworkDeviceNaming: "Ethernet NICs embedded on the motherboard will be named em[1234] rather than ethX. PCI add-in card NICs will be named p<slot>p<port>_<vf>. Linux guests running under virtualization platforms such as KVM, Xen, VMware Workstation or ESX, or Microsoft Hyper-V will not have their devices renamed." A possible workaround is to rename NICs using the "em" convention.
66935	(Service Pack 1) Subversion (SVN) Connector Fails in Workbench On Macintosh and Linux, the Subversion plugin installation fails to complete successfully. Workaround: See this Help Article.

Problems Fixed in IDL 8.2 Service Pack 2


46839	IDL 8.2.2 has been updated with IMSL for 64-bit Windows.
48058	The VALUE_LOCATE() function now allows 1-element arrays and scalars for the input Vector.
60797	On Windows platforms, attempts to open a DICOM file located in the Reproduce directory caused IDL 8.x to crash when using READ_DICOM(dicomex=0) or by the use of IDLffDICOM directly.
63891	The LOCATION keyword for the AXIS() routine now allows for input independent of the data.
66297	Added the ability to update RGB_TABLE and RGB_INDICES on the CONTOUR object.
67618	Setting the LIMIT property with IMAGE() could make images disappear. If LIMIT is set or retrieved on an IMAGE, it is now retrieved from the actual MAP, not the image's map projection.
67647	Updated GAUSS2DFIT when using the MASK keyword to exclude NaNs when performing calculations.
67659	PLOT() caused errors when using [XYZ]TICKUNITS with an array. Updated the [XYZ]TICKUNITS keyword on the PLOT function to handle multiple units.
67665	In certain situations, PDF output did not match the colors on the screen. This has been addressed.
67775	Updated WRITE_CSV and READ_CSV to handle quote characters within strings.
67827	With large datasets, SWAP_ENDIAN routines did not process correctly. Updated to process datasets greater than 4GB.
67848	Updated the EXTRACT keyword to LIST to handle 1-element arrays.
67885	Plot lines could appear with different thicknesses while zooming out.
67918	Updated VERT_COLORS keyword to PLOT to handle more than 256 elements.
67992	IDLanROIGroup caused IDL to shut down. Updated to handle greater than 1024 IDLanROIs
68042	Printing from PLOT() in runtime or command line IDL session sometimes resulted in oversized output.
68059	Updated the THICK keyword to IDLgrPLOT to handle values higher than 1 correctly.