Re: IDLWAVE 4.6

["J.D. Smith" <jdsmith(at)astro.cornell.edu>]

Craig Markwardt wrote:
> 
> Hi Carsten and JD,
> 
> This little script, and JD's similar one, was indeed the kind of thing
> I was looking for.
> 
> I am certainly comfortable in Emacs, and have tried my hand at
> programming elisp.  However, as with anything very powerful and
> configurable, you end up with too much power and too many
> configurations!  Part of the problem is just knowing where to start.
> 
> The same goes for my IDL programming.  I look back at my early
> programs and they look very arcane and kludgey by my (present day)
> standards, mostly because I didn't know how to harness the power of
> IDL as well.
> 
> Sometimes I need a little mothering ...  (sniff) Also, I think I'm
> getting old enough that the curmudgeon factor is starting to play a
> role.  If those two aren't mutually exclusive.
> 
> The current IDLWAVE documentation appears to be excellent, however
> it's mostly reference material.  The IDLWAVE Nutshell documentation is
> primarily a command summary.  If you could put a suitably merged
> version of your tutorials in the documentation, perhaps as "Getting
> Started," that would be great.

It does sound good, and I had made some (apparently vacuous) promises to
turn out something of this sort.  And yes David, the title was certainly
going to contain the word "Idiot".  What I thought would really be neat
was an illustrated guide with screen shots accompanying the written
descriptions.  Perhaps a third party effort would lend more credibility
(and permit me to graduate).  I'll keep it in mind.  (Of course,
Carsten, being infinitely more productive than most mortals, will likely
churn something out in the wee hours tonight)

JD