iraf.net

Greetings!!It's been a while since I've used IRAF, and I can't seem to figure out how to install IRAF again (from a clean slate hard drive on Mac OS X).I'm following the directions in the PC-IRAF v2.12 Installation Guide (which is the only current installation guide I could find on the NOAO website), but I'm really confused by the directions and they don't seem to work. I have already created the IRAF user account and logged into it.Anyway, so it doesn't seem to matter where I place the folder containing the iraf.macx.x86_64.tar.gz files (I've tried placing it in the "/" folder, which contains my Applications and Users folder, I've tried placing it in /Users/iraf/...), I can't get past the first installation step.When iraf asks me to specify the root directory, and I hit Enter, I receive the following error message: *** The iraf directory tree is not generally readable.
*** This will prevent most users from being able to read iraf
*** files, especially the binaries\!
*** Please reset the permissions and try again...then install quits.When I change all the permissions in the folder to have both my account and everyone have (at least) Read access, I get the same error message.If I specify a different folder into which the iraf files should be installed, I am given a different message: *** The definition of '[different folder]' looks incorrect.
***
*** The iraf root directory is the place where the AS distribution
*** file was unpacked; it contains subdirectories such as 'dev',
*** 'local', 'noao', 'pkg', and the file IS.PORT.GEN.
***
***
*** Please verify your path and try again ...But I just tried that and it told me that the iraf directory tree is not generally readable.
Also, the directions inside the Installation Guide tell me to type:
source irafuser.cshbefore I do ./install -n , but when I do that, I receive the following error message:-bash: irafuser.csh: line 19: syntax error near unexpected token `else'
-bash: irafuser.csh: line 19: `else if (-f /etc/redhat-release) then'I'm so confused!
[1] What exactly is $iraf? Have I already defined it? The manual says something about changing $iraf to $iraf/login and that "$iraf symbolizes the UNIX pathname of the root IRAF directory." But I'm not using "root user," I'm logged in as "iraf."[2] Where exactly should I be unpacking the iraf.macx.x86_64.tar.gz files? The Installation Guide didn't clarify this for me.[3] What exactly is the IRAF root directory, and how does that differ from the "iraf directory tree"? Is it the folder that contains all the iraf.macx.x86_64.tar.gz files, the folder into which all the iraf files are being installed, somewhere inside of /usr/bin/, somewhere inside of a root user account, or something else?[4] What is going on with the "source irafuser.csh" command?[5] What am I doing wrong with the installation process?

Hi Andrej,I've just installed IRAF in my iMac, and it's very simple. No special iraf user account is actually required.Create the /iraf/iraf/ directory:
sudo mkdir -p /iraf/irafUnpack there the tarfile
cd /iraf/iraf/
sudo tar -zxvf /path/to/iraf.macx.x86_64.tar.gzDefine the iraf variable
export iraf="/iraf/iraf/"Run the install script
sudo /iraf/iraf/unix/hlib/install
The default answers should be fine, I only changed imdir and cache which I set to /tmp/imdir and /tmp/cache.After this step is completed, you should have a bunch of IRAF-related executables in /usr/local/bin (this directory should already be in your path, check with echo $PATH).Initialize IRAF with:
mkdir ~/iraf ; cd ~/iraf
mkirafThen type ecl to start IRAF.CheersNicola

I did what you told me, from my normal (admin.) account on Mac OS X.When I get to the step that asks me:"New iraf root directory (/iraf/iraf): "and hit Return, I received the same error message: *** The iraf directory tree is not generally readable.
*** This will prevent most users from being able to read iraf
*** files, especially the binaries\!
*** Please reset the permissions and try again...and the installer quit.

Alright I'd like to follow-up on my post.That is basically what I had been doing, except I had been using the Mac OS X GUI to move files around (in exactly the manner you described, create the /iraf/iraf folder, double-clicking and unpacking the .gz file, and dragging/dropping the folder containing files into the /iraf/iraf/ folder), then I ran the sudo install command.Why does using the Mac OS X in this manner not work, whereas if I use the Terminal commands to complete the same task, that works??
Also: There was an extra step at the end that asked me to enter my terminal type out of "xgterm,xterm,gterm,vt640,vt100,etc." so I picked xgterm. But now I'm having the same problems as reported here:https://iraf.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=90942I'm using OS X 10.8.
For the moment I have one more question about IRAF interfacing with DS9 but I'll hold that off until I know if I did the installation correctly.

I personally prefer the command line to the GUI when installing things. Perhaps when you created the /iraf/iraf/ directory from the GUI it got user's ownership rather than root's, thus the problems with wrong permissions.As for xgterm, you need to download the macintel version of the X11iraf package, untar it, and put the xgterm executable in your path. For example
sudo mkdir /iraf/X11-iraf
cd /iraf/X11-iraf/
sudo tar -zxvf /path/to/x11iraf-macintel-tarfile
cd /usr/local/bin/
sudo ln -sf /iraf/X11-iraf/bin.macintel/xgtermCheersNicola

I did exactly what you told me (this time, command for command in the Terminal), and I still get jibberish when I do [i:9ae9556a04]imexamine[/i:9ae9556a04] and I type r, c, or l, as described in the other thread.Should I ask my question in that thread, or should I ask this question here?
I also wanted to ask:
How do I use imexamine to determine the magnitude of, say, a galaxy in the image?

Make sure that you are actually running IRAF in a xgterm.
Type xgterm, and a new terminal window should open up. There, cd to your iraf directory:
cd ~/iraf/
and then launch IRAF.
At the IRAF prompt, type "stty". The answer should be something like "xgterm ncols=101 nlines=29". If not, reset the terminal by typing "stty xgterm" and try imexamine again.As for galaxy photometry, I think that's a whole new subject and perhaps deserves its own thread. Packages that could be useful are phot and analysis (in stsdas). I think there are also several posts in the forum about galaxy photometry.Nicola

I see, I was using Terminal to use IRAF.Nice, it works.Alright, I'll have to search for galaxy photometry.