Mixing ASCII and Binary in files

[Ben Tupper <btupper(at)bigelow.org>]

Hello,

Thank you for all for the very interesting responses regarding my Julian
Day number query.

I have a question regarding mixing ASCII data (as a header) with binary
data (as data following the header).  This is a desirable format for our
purposes for a number of reasons.  I have come across such files
generated in the DOS environment from Sea-Bird Electronics devices.

I am able to read and write such files in MacOS using IDL without
difficulty; I am unable to do the same in Windows.

>From within IDL, is it possible to write such a file so that it is
readable across all platforms?  If so, how?

Thanks

Ben

--
Ben Tupper
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
180 McKown Point Rd.
W. Boothbay Harbor, ME 04575
btupper@bigelow.org