Subject: File validation software prototype for testing

From: bschlesinger at nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov (Barry Schlesinger)
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1992 18:47:00 GMT

A prototype of the developing NOST FITS Support Office
software package to validate FITS files is now available for testing.
It is written in ANSI C.  The current version checks for the presence
of the required keywords in the primary header and whether or not they
are in the proper order. It will find them if they are out of order
but will issue warnings. Syntax is also checked.  Also, if the user
chooses, it creates a file of selected members of integer data arrays,
as specified by the user, unless there are major header errors.  This
version cannot handle floating point. If there are minor header
errors, it will attempt to derive information to obtain the data array
but will warn the user that the data may not be extracted properly. 
The current version does not check extensions. 
	This very simple prototype is being made available now in
order to identify errors and portability problems before the package
becomes too complex.  The software has been developed on a VAX
cluster.  It can handle twos complement integers with either most
significant byte or least significant byte first, but it cannot handle
ones complement. ASCII-EBCDIC conversion also has not been
implemented.  Sun users should be warned that because the software is
ANSI C, they will not be able to use SUN C1.0, the standard compiler
for SPARCstations. 
	To obtain a copy of the package and the instructions for use, 
send electronic mail to

	(Internet) fits at nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov
	(NSI-DECnet) NCF::FITS	

				Barry Schlesinger
				NOST FITS Support Office