IDL

Overview

IDL provides a dynamically typed visualization programming language and tools for data viz.

Version 8.6 is installed on the CSF.

Restrictions on use

IDL is licenced software. To use this software you will need to show you have a licence and be added to the idl Unix group. It is currently restricted to a specific research group.

Any permitted usage must adhere to the following license conditions:

IDL licences supplied under this agreement are solely used by researchers in astronomy
and solar systems science (including Solar Terrestrial Physics) within the STFC remit.

Please contact its-ri-team@manchester.ac.uk for more information about this software.

Set up procedure

You can add the IDL software binaries to your $PATH by running

module load apps/binapps/idl/8.6

This will also set up the required licence paths.

Running the application

The application is launched by issuing the command idl.

If you need to run the software for more than a few minutes using significant CPU or memory resources you should run it via a compute node.

Serial batch job

Make sure you have loaded the modulefile. Then create a jobscript similar to the following:

#!/bin/bash
#$ -cwd
#$ -V

# -- the commands to be executed (programs to be run) :

idl < test.pro
       #
       # Change to be the name of your IDL input file

Submit the job using

qsub myjobscript

where myjobscript is the name of your jobscript created above.

Example of an interactive IDL session

Use the qrsh command to request interactive compute resources:

qrsh -l inter -l short
 #
 # Wait until you have been logged in to a compute node. Then:

# Set up to run IDL
module load apps/binapps/idl/8.6

# Run idle interactive (will give you the IDL prompt)
idl

# Alternatively, supply an IDL input file
idl < myscript.pro

Please also consult the qrsh documentation for more detailed instructions on interactive use of compute nodes.

Parallel Job Submission

IDL should only be run on a single node (shared memory parallelism)

Instructions coming soon.

Further info

Examples and help are available in $IDL_DIR/examples and $IDL_DIR/help