Subject: 15JUL94 AIPS release (with Linux notes). Binaries too!
From: [email-masked] (Jeff Uphoff)
Date: Tue, 6 Sep 1994 17:44:00 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce

The following was also posted to alt.sci.astro.aips, but I'm including
my own comments specific to the Linux version at the end of this
posting.  It's a bit delayed here, but I wanted to wait for some Pentium
benchmark figures.

-----begin Pat Murphy's post to alt.sci.astro.aips-----

The 15JUL94 release of AIPS is now available on a restricted basis.  As
with previous recent releases, this one is, for now, restricted to "well
known" systems; see below for a list.  Unlike past releases, it is now
available for these systems either on tape or via (non-anonymous) ftp over
the internet.

This release marks the first time NRAO has provided a binary or "load and
go" distribution of AIPS since the VAX/VMS era several years ago.  The new
order form, available on baboon.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.103] via anonymous
ftp and WWW, now has boxes to check if you want the binary tape for
certain architectures.  Binary tapes are available for:

	Sparc systems or clones, SunOS 4.1
	Sparc systems or clones, SunOS 5 or higher
	IBM RS/6000 systems, AIX 3.2 or higher
	Dec Alpha AXP systems, OSF/1 1.2 or higher
	Intel 386/486/Pentium, Linux 0.99 through 1.30

A binary tape for Silicon Graphics (Irix 5) should be available in the
near future.  Please note: the binary distributions will *NOT* be
available via internet ftp; they are provided only on Exabyte (2G or 5G)
or DDS DAT tapes.  Also, the order form on the 15JUL94 AIPSletter was not
updated for binary distribution; refer to the form available on baboon via
anonymous ftp or the web for an updated version (or just write it in on
the old version).

The source-only distribution is also available for the above systems.
If you have any other type of system, you will be able to get the
source-only distribution in the very near future; I need to finish
updating the Porting Reference first (the Installation Summary has been
updated).  Watch for an announcement here when it is available, and if you
wish to get a copy and *cannot* obtain it via anonymous ftp or WWW, please
write and request a printed copy.

Order forms, requests for information, etc. should be sent to
[email-masked].
				- Pat
--
=============================================================================
  Patrick P. Murphy, Ph.D.                   Scientific Programming Analyst
  National Radio Astronomy Observatory                     [email-masked]
  520 Edgemont Road                                     Tel: (804) 296-0372
  Charlottesville, VA 22903-2475                        Fax: (804) 296-0278
                                         web: http://orangutan.cv.nrao.edu/
	"I don't believe in the no-win scenario"  --- James T. Kirk
=============================================================================

-----end Pat Murphy's post to alt.sci.astro.aips-----

(Non-AIPS users beware of jargon to follow.)

Pat mentions Linux versions 0.99 through 1.30...this is an "oops" of
sorts...AIPS has been run on Linux systems with kernel versions from
0.99.12, the version that I did the original port to Linux on, up
through 1.1.49.  Only 0.99.13 didn't run it properly (there was a
file-locking problem that I managed a local work-around to in the Linux
kernel).

The binary release of AIPS for Linux (the smallest binary release among
all of the supported OS's) weighs in at 189 MB, so that's the reason
that binaries are only distributed on tape, and are not available by
FTP.  (Source is available by *non-anonymous* FTP directly from NRAO.)
The details for acquiring AIPS are above.  (It is provided at no cost to
academic and research institutions--please see the order forms.)

Tape support for reading and writing FITS files has been added to the
Linux version in this release; it was not available in the 15JAN94
release.  There may still be a bit of debugging required in this,
though; FITLD has trouble reading from some tapes (use 'dd' as a
workaround), but TPHEAD manages OK.  FITTP now writes to tape as well as
disk.

Note:  If you have trouble writing FITS files to disk or tape, try the
following fix that we found after the distribution was released:

COMRPL $APLSUB/FILL NOOPT 
COMLNK $APGNOT/FITTP

Compiler optimization of the FILL routine seems to cause it not to
return on some systems, hanging the write to disk/tape.

The binary release was compiled as follows:

1.1.23 kernel (at least 1.1.12 is required, or else the MT_ISSCSI2
references in $APLLINUX/ZMOUN2.C will need to be commented-out and some
re-compiling done).  I'm not absolutely positive about the 1.1.23 level;
things have been moving so rapidly in the 1.1 tree that I'm just making
a good guess.  If you have troubles, please let me know.

lib{c,m}-4.5.26, libf2c-0.9 shared libraries.

The TV server (XAS) was compiled with: libX{11,t}-3.1.0.

The gzip'ped tarfile of the source code that is available for FTP is
roughly 16.4 MB in size.  There is also a UNIX compress'ed tarfile
available that is roughly 22.5 MB in size.

Newsflash (as of this week) for AIPS'ers: I've finally gotten my hands
on a 90MHz Pentium to test AIPS performance on.  It's impressive--with
40MB RAM it scored 1.01 AIPSMarks (the same as a Sun SPARCstation IPX),
and with 32MB RAM it scored 0.96 (.01 more than a Sun SPARCstation LX).

The AIPSMarks figures are for the "large" DDT benchmark.  The times for
the small and medium DDT's were even better (in comparison with the
Suns), and in one case (a small DDT on a different Pentium) it was 12
seconds faster than a DEC Alpha 3000/300 (255 to the DEC's 267).  I
don't know quite how that happened.  :)

--
Jeff Uphoff -- "Uppie"                |  "...that sputterless little candle-
National Radio Astronomy Observatory  |  flame of the mediocre mind known as
520 Edgemont Road                     |  'common sense' has never produced
Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA        |  anything worth celebrating."
(804) 296-0208                        |    -- Tom Robbins

E-mail:  [email-masked], [email-masked]
WWW:     http://tarsier.cv.nrao.edu/~juphoff/

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