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From: shaks@cfa237.harvard.edu (Jonathan Schachter)
Message-Id: <9502180206.AA21071@cfa237.harvard.edu>
To: scientists@cfa237.harvard.edu, postdocs@cfa237.harvard.edu,
        students@cfa237.harvard.edu, visitors@cfa237.harvard.edu
Cc: msgs@cfa237.harvard.edu
Subject: MIRIAD (radio astron.) software package now available on HEAD
Date: Fri, 17 Feb 95 21:06:08 EST

hi.  with the aid of syshelp, i've made the MIRIAD radio astronomy
software package (sun4 version) available in /soft/miriad.  see below
for how to start it up.

DETAILS (skip now if you think this is junk email!):

Most typically, MIRIAD is used for data from the VLA, the Australia
Telescope Compact Array, the Hat Creek mm interferometer (BIMMA), and
Westerbork (WSRT).  Although AIPS can be used for VLA data, Compact
Array and other data (linear feeds vs. circular for the VLA) where
Stokes parameters are desired must be taken into MIRIAD for
calibration and imaging.  Usually, the data are flagged in AIPS, and
then imported into MIRIAD.  Unlike AIPS, MIRIAD has some important
user friendly features:

   o direct, seamless access to a unix shell

   o data formats --- real disk files which can be archived with
UNIX "tar" (instead of relatively bizarre-ly named VMS files in AIPS)

   o data analysis via shell scripts, freely mixing shell commands
and miriad commands

   o command line editing and history (much like the T-shell)

HOW TO RUN:

   1. add these two lines to your .cshrc file (and then source it):

          source /soft/miriad/bin/MIRRC
          set path = ($MIRBIN $path)

   2. start up "pgdisp" (/soft/xan/xanadu/sun4/bin/pgdisp if not
already in your path) and "xmtv".  note that "xmtv" shares the same
socket as AIPS TV, so kill as necessary.


   3. start up "miriad".

   4. access online documentation with "help," see the manuals in 
/soft/miriad/man (postscript), or find me.


jon schachter


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Date: Thu, 16 Feb 95 23:09:31 EST
From: shaks@cfa237.harvard.edu (Jonathan Schachter)
Message-Id: <9502170409.AA16023@cfa237.harvard.edu>
To: syshelp@cfa237.harvard.edu
Subject: miriad installation
Cc: ccarilli@cfa.harvard.edu, cgrant@cfa.harvard.edu, dharris@cfa.harvard.edu,
        jbookbinder@cfa.harvard.edu, shaks@cfa237.harvard.edu,
        taldcroft@cfa.harvard.edu

dear syshelp (and copies to interested personnel):

hi.  i've now installed (in pool space) the sun4 version of miriad, a
useful radio astronomy package.  specifically, it does radio
polarization data from the Australia Telescope (my current
application) quite nicely.  unlike AIPS, it can be driven purely via
shell scripts, its terminal interface understands unix shell commands,
and includes a line editing capability and history mechanism (like the
unix T-shell).  like AIPS, however, the data files do take up lots
of disk space.

i propose that miriad be installed in /soft/miriad/sun4.  i can be
the HEAD contact person.  if there is sufficient interest, i can
see about installing the solaris version as well, but first things first.

all the relevant files are in /pool1/shaks.  The total size is about
80 Megs.  if you could please just copy those over to
/soft/miriad/sun4.  then please change the value of MIR in the file
/soft/miriad/sun4/bin/MIRRC as follows:

setenv MIR /soft/miriad/sun4

then, to run it, a user just needs to add
these lines to his or her .cshrc file:

source /soft/miriad/sun4/bin/MIRRC
set path = ($MIRBIN $path)

and then just type the word "miriad".  

two useful auxilliary programs are pgdisp, the PGPLOT server, and xmtv
(like the AIPS TV).  miriad uses the version of pgdisp already
resident in our xanadu package (/soft/xan/xanadu/sun4/bin/pgdisp, or
just pgdisp for those of us who already have xanadu in our path).

xmtv is found in $MIRBIN.  

jon

p.s. if there is an aipsusers mailing list, this might be circulated
to that as well.