TABLES v2.0 RELEASE SUMMARY

TABLES v2.0 (unlike STSDAS v2.0) does not require IRAF 2.11.

This version of TABLES includes two major enhancements. The first is the ability to access BINTABLE extensions in FITS files directly. This ability has been added by making use of the HEASARC FITSIO library routines (http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/software/fitsio/fitsio.html). This library is distributed as part of the TABLES release. There is no need to obtain it separately. The means of accessing FITS tables (BINTABLE or ASCII) is similar to that used to access image extensions using the IRAF FITS kernel, but there are a few inconsistencies. A description of how to access such data may be found on the release web page mentioned below in the near future.

The second feature is added support for access of arrays contained in table cells (for either FITS or STSDAS format tables). Extracted spectra for STIS (and eventually for NICMOS) are delivered as FITS BINTABLE extensions where each row contains a separate spectrum (associated wavelength, data quality, and error information) using arrays in table cells. Currently the changes are primarily in the software interface, but there are three tasks that now support arrays in this form, tcopy, igi, and sgraph. We expect to revise all tasks that access arrays stored in table columns to allow access to arrays in table cells also over the next couple of releases. Furthermore, there are translator tasks that allow such arrays to be converted to other table or image formats (and conversely, converted from other formats to arrays in table cells).

Users are also encouraged to check the web page for this release occasionally (http://stsdas.stsci.edu/Updates.html) for information regarding updated documentation for various tasks and packages (a number of the newer tasks and capabilities need better documentation than is supplied with the release) and a list of known problems with suggestions for workarounds. We also expect to provide updated manuals for STSDAS, synphot and igi in the next few months.

Packages or tasks that have seen significant changes include:

fitsio
ttools.tcopy
      .trename (moved to tobsolete)
      .tconvert
tbplot.igi
tbplot.sgraph

Packages or tasks that have had minor enhancements or bug fixes include:

ttools.keypar
      .tcalc
      .tdump
      .tupar

New tasks:

tscopy
tximage
txtable
titable
tiimage

trename has been moved to the tobsolete package because its function is duplicated by other tasks and possible confusion regarding how FITS table extensions should be handled by the task.

Parameter files that have changed (new parameters or new default values)

fitsio/strfits.par		- 'force' added
ttools/tdump.par		- 'pwidth' default changed
      /tintegrate.par		- 'table','integrand','independent'
					defaults changed
      /tprint.par		- 'pwidth' default changed
      /trebin.par		- 'extrapolate','value' added