Installing aXeSIM

Requirements

The following are required to run aXeSIM:

• STSDAS 3.5 or later (http://www.stsci.edu/resources/software_hardware/stsdas)
• PyRAF 1.2 or later (http://www.stsci.edu/resources/software_hardware/pyraf)

Installing from the aXeSIM source distribution

After downloading the aXeSIM-1.0 tarball from
(http://www.stecf.org/software/slitless_software/axesim), move it to the installation directory /your/aXeSIM/path and unpack it there with:

>gunzip aXeSIM10src.tar.gz
>tar -xvf aXeSIM10src.tar

aXeSIM consists of a part written in ANSI C and a second part written in Python (www.python.org).

For Linux (Fedora Core 6), statically linked binaries are part of the aXeSIM distribution. In the (hopefully unlikely) case that these binaries do not work, or you work with a different operating system, you have to build the executables by yourself as described in the Chapter 2.3.

On the Python side there exists a script to compile the code. Go to the Python directory and compile the Python code there with:

>cd /your/aXeSIM/path/aXeSIM10/iraf/
>python compileaXe.py .

If all went well, aXeSIM-1.0 is now ready. The new package with its tasks must be declared in PyRAF. To do this, add the following lines near the end of your login.cl file, or in loginuser.cl:

reset axesim       = /your/aXeSIM/path/aXeSIM10/iraf/
task  axesim.pkg   = axesim$axesim.cl
reset helpdb       = (envget("helpdb") //", axesim$lib/helpdb.mip")

The next time PyRAF is launched, the package aXeSIM is available. It can then be loaded as any other package by simply typing its name:

--> axesim

  The aXeSIM software package 1.0 was developed by the
  Slitless Group of the ST-ECF. Further information and
  documentation is available at the aXeSIM pages:
  http://www.stecf.org/software/slitless_software/axesim/
  Any questions regarding this software can  be directed to:
  acsdesk@eso.org

axesim/:
 prepimages prepspectra simdata simdirim simdispim
-->

The message which appears during the loading of the package and the task overview indicate that everything went OK and that the tasks can be used from now on. The package can be used by more than one user. Other users only have to modify their login.cl or loginuser.cl as described above to access the aXeSIM package and the tasks within it (of course provided that they have access to the installation directory).

aXeSIM was successfully built and tested under Fedora 6. It should be no problem to install aXeSIM under other Unix or Unix-like operating systems such as HPUX or MacOSX.

Compiling the C-code

To compile the C-code you need:

• GNU CC 2.95 or later compiler
• GNU Scientific Libraries 1.x (http://sources.redhat.com/gsl/)
• WCStools 3.x libraries (http://tdc-www.harvard.edu/software/wcstools/)
• CFITSIO 2.x libraries (http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/software/fitsio/fitsio.html)

For the C part, a configure script is included with aXeSIM. To configure and then compile the C tasks do the following:

>cd aXeSIM10/iraf/ccc
>./configure

For MacsOSX, the option "-build=powerpc" must be added to the configure command for Power PC machines, and the option ``-build=i386-pc-macosx'' for Intel Macs. If some libraries used by aXeSIM are not installed in the usual places, online parameters must be used to tell the configure script where to find them. For example

./configure --with-cfitsio-prefix=/your_axelibs/cfitsio
     --with-gsl-prefix=/your_axelibs/gsl-1.0
     --with-wcstools-prefix=/your_axelibs/wcstools-3.0.4

specifies explicitly the location of the GSL and the CFITSIO library. Follow the instructions given by the configure script to solve problems. The configure script generates a Makefile which is used to compile the aXeSIM binaries. Type

>make

to execute the Makefile and create the binaries. The tasks must be installed in the bin sub-directory of the aXeSIM-iraf directory. Simply execute

>make install

to move the binaries to their proper location.

aXeSIM/aXe Mailing List

We have installed an aXeSIM/aXe mailing list to keep users informed about new developments and updates concerning aXe and aXeSIM. To the subscribers, the mailing list also offers the opportunity to share and discuss their experiences with the software. We encourage all aXeSIM users to participate and use the mailing list as a discussion forum for aXeSIM, aXe and related issues. The aXeSIM software package is still evolving, and the communication between the software developers and the users is very important to improve the future versions of aXeSIM.

The subscription to the aXeSIM/aXe mailing list is done by sending an email to majordomo@stecf.org with the content subscribe axe@stecf.org in the mail body.

To unsubscribe from the aXeSIM/aXe mailing list, please send an email to
majordomo@stecf.org with the content unsubscribe axe@stecf.org in the mail body.

aXeSIM Support

The ACS group at the Space Telescope - European Coordinating Facility (STECF) is responsible for the support of the spectroscopic modes of ACS and WFC3. As part of this support, we have developed aXeSIM. To request further help and information concerning aXeSIM, please contact us with an email to stdesk@eso.org using aXeSIM in the subject line (in order to separate your mail from SPAM).