From owner-fitsbits Fri Mar 20 17:33:06 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id RAA06456 for fitsbits-spinner; Fri, 20 Mar 1998 17:33:06 -0500 Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id RAA06453 for ; Fri, 20 Mar 1998 17:33:03 -0500 Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id RAA14996 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Fri, 20 Mar 1998 17:33:02 -0500 (EST) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id RAA06434 for ; Fri, 20 Mar 1998 17:31:43 -0500 Received: from newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.17]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id RAA14983 for ; Fri, 20 Mar 1998 17:31:41 -0500 (EST) Received: (from news at localhost) by newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id RAA31283; Fri, 20 Mar 1998 17:31:40 -0500 To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: 20 Mar 1998 17:31:33 -0500 From: Don Wells Message-ID: Organization: nrao Path: newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu!not-for-mail References: <6eu8k3$pbp at milo.mcs.anl.gov> Reply-To: dwells at nrao.edu Subject: Re: Requaest for help. Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk >>>>> "Zoltan" == Zoltan Nagy writes: Zoltan> To whom is involved in running this newsgroup/mailing Zoltan> list.. I found this newsgroup in the book entitled "The Zoltan> Internet for Scientist and Engineers" by B.J. Thomas. Zoltan> This book mentions that this newsgroup is also mirrored Zoltan> on mailing list "fits-bits at fits.cx.nrao.edu." ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ fitsbits at nrao.edu Zoltan> I am involved with a newsgroup "sci.chem.electrochem," Zoltan> which is mirrored on a mailing list "eletqm-l." I have Zoltan> been crossposting messages between the the newsgroup and Zoltan> the mailing list manually far the last couple of years.. I Zoltan> would really like to have a software that could do the job Zoltan> automatically.. is your newsgroup connected to the Zoltan> mailing list.. manually or automatically? The answer is: "automatically". Traffic arriving in newsgroup sci.astro.fits is piped to a Perl script named 'news2mail' which Emails it to (NRAO uses the 'Majordomo' package for its Email exploders). The exploder is configured so that traffic from subscribers is "exploded" automatically, but traffic from non-subscribers must be approved (by me). This means that subscribers to do not see the "spam" traffic which is often posted to sci.astro.fits. The spam postings are usually cancelled by somebody within a few hours, but not before they are forwarded to , and so I must reject such spam traffic almost every day (my fingers long ago memorized the keystrokes). The approval of messages is a painless process which is well automated, at least for the "VM" mailreader which I use, under GNU Emacs. The mailing list for includes the entry , and so all traffic which is exploded is sent to this mailbox, which pipes it to a Perl script named 'mail2news', which posts it to newsgroup sci.astro.fits. Actually, in the NRAO installation 'news2mail' and 'mail2news' are the same script---the Perl script knows what to do from which name is used to execute it. This forwarding scheme would be an infinite loop except for the fact that news servers check the Message-IDs and suppress IDs which have already been seen. Zoltan> Could you advise me about a software that connects the Zoltan> group and the list? Or, at least, could you point me in Zoltan> the right direction for looking for such a software or for Zoltan> asking about it? See the file ftp://tarsier.cv.nrao.edu/pub/src/misc/news2mail.gz File 'news2mail.gz' is 1 Kb, and is dated Dec 11, 1994. This is an old, publically available version which does not contain local modifications which are in NRAO's current installation. The comments in the Perl code seem clear enough to me. The NRAO systems person who installed this code does not know where he got it, or who was the original author. He tells me that the installation and configuration of these scripts is 'standard news server and majordomo hacking', and that an analogous implementation coded in 'Tcl' [Tool Control Language] is available somewhere. I also did a Web search, and found the following URL, in which similar Perl code is available as two separate files: http://harper-hall.cit.cornell.edu/news/gates.html -Don -- Donald C. Wells Associate Scientist dwells at nrao.edu http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~dwells National Radio Astronomy Observatory +1-804-296-0277 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903-2475 USA From owner-fitsbits Fri Mar 20 17:32:55 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id RAA06448 for fitsbits-spinner; Fri, 20 Mar 1998 17:32:55 -0500 Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id RAA06445 for ; Fri, 20 Mar 1998 17:32:51 -0500 Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id RAA14992 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Fri, 20 Mar 1998 17:32:50 -0500 (EST) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id MAA05421 for ; Fri, 20 Mar 1998 12:31:44 -0500 Received: from newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.17]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id MAA14702 for ; Fri, 20 Mar 1998 12:31:43 -0500 (EST) Received: (from news at localhost) by newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id MAA16200; Fri, 20 Mar 1998 12:31:41 -0500 To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: 20 Mar 1998 17:22:10 GMT From: nagy at anl.gov (Zoltan Nagy) Message-ID: <6eu8k3$pbp at milo.mcs.anl.gov> Organization: Argonne National Laboratory Path: newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!nntprelay.mathworks.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!128.174.5.49!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!milo.mcs.anl.gov!usenet Subject: Requaest for help. Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk To whom is involved in running this newsgroup/mailing list. I am writing to you for some help and advice. I found this newsgroup in the book entitled "The Internet for Scientist and Engineers" by B.J. Thomas. This book mentions that this newsgroup is also mirrored on mailing list "fits-bits at fits.cx.nrao.edu." I am involved with a newsgroup "sci.chem.electrochem," which is mirrored on a mailing list "eletqm-l." I have been crossposting messages between the the newsgroup and the mailing list manually far the last couple of years. It takes only a few minutes daily, but it is still a chore. I would really like to have a software that could do the job automatically. I was wondering how is your newsgroup connected to the mailing list. Is it done manually or automatically? Could you advise me about a software that connects the group and the list? Or, at least, could you point me in the right direction for looking for such a software or for asking about it? Your help will be greatly appreciated. Please e-mail to nagy at anl.gov Regards: Zoltan Nagy ****************************************************************************** Zoltan Nagy Divisions of Materials Science and Chemical Technology Argonne National Laboratory Phone: (630) 252-4355 9700 South Cass Avenue FAX: (630) 252-9373 Argonne, Illinois 60439-4837, USA E-mail: nagy at anl.gov ****************************************************************************** From owner-fitsbits Sat Mar 28 20:00:16 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id UAA19393 for fitsbits-spinner; Sat, 28 Mar 1998 20:00:16 -0500 Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id UAA19390 for ; Sat, 28 Mar 1998 20:00:12 -0500 Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id UAA10744 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Sat, 28 Mar 1998 20:00:11 -0500 (EST) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id TAA19376 for ; Sat, 28 Mar 1998 19:58:31 -0500 Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id TAA10734; Sat, 28 Mar 1998 19:58:30 -0500 (EST) Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1998 19:58:30 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <199803290058.TAA10734 at fits.cv.nrao.edu> From: Don Wells MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Subject: Happy Birthday, FITS! Sender: owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk Dear friends of FITS, I consider today, March 28th, to be the birthday of FITS, because it was on this day in 1979 that Eric Greisen and I negotiated the original FITS Agreement. FITS is 19 years old today. Six years ago, as a birthday present for FITS, I prepared my version of the early history and pre-history of FITS; see this URL: http://www.cv.nrao.edu/fits/documents/overviews/history.news As in previous years, I offer original reprints of four FITS papers: ==> "FITS: A Flexible Image Transport System", Wells, Greisen, Harten, A&A Suppl. 44, 363-370 (June 1981). This is the Basic FITS paper, the original reference. ==> "The FITS tape formats: flexible image transport systems", Greisen, Wells, Harten, SPIE 264, 298 (1980). This was actually the first published paper about FITS. It is notable for its Figure 2, a superb schematic illustration of the random groups data structure concept as realized in a FITS file; this concept is also applicable to many BINTABLE data structures. ==> "An extension of FITS for groups of small arrays of data", Greisen, Harten, A&A Suppl. 44, 371-374 (June 1981). This is the Random Groups paper, a key part of the conceptual basis for the BINTABLE Agreement of 1991. ==> "Binary table extension to FITS", Cotton, Tody, Pence, A&A Suppl. 113, 159-166 (1995). This is the BINTABLE paper. I will be delighted to mail out sets of these reprints until the supply is exhausted; send your requests to me by Email. -=-=-=-=- Do any of you have a favorite icon for FITS files? If so, could I have a copy of your icon? I have not yet chosen an icon to use for FITS files, and would like to do so. Best regards, Don Wells (Chair, IAU FITS Working Group) -- Donald C. Wells Associate Scientist dwells at nrao.edu http://fits.cv.nrao.edu/~dwells National Radio Astronomy Observatory +1-804-296-0277 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903-2475 USA From owner-fitsbits Mon Mar 30 08:12:46 1998 Received: (from majordom at localhost) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id IAA28627 for fitsbits-spinner; Mon, 30 Mar 1998 08:12:46 -0500 Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id IAA28624 for ; Mon, 30 Mar 1998 08:12:43 -0500 Received: (from dwells at localhost) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) id IAA12270 for fitsbits at majordomo.cv.nrao.edu; Mon, 30 Mar 1998 08:12:41 -0500 (EST) Received: from fits.cv.nrao.edu (fits.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.8]) by marmoset.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id HAA28379 for ; Mon, 30 Mar 1998 07:04:27 -0500 Received: from newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu [192.33.115.17]) by fits.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5/CV-2.3) with ESMTP id HAA12203 for ; Mon, 30 Mar 1998 07:04:26 -0500 (EST) Received: (from news at localhost) by newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id HAA07381; Mon, 30 Mar 1998 07:04:23 -0500 To: fitsbits at fits.cv.nrao.edu Date: 30 Mar 1998 11:55:58 GMT From: billh at ssec.wisc.edu (Bill Hibbard) Message-ID: <6fo18e$mc8 at spool.cs.wisc.edu> Organization: University of WI, Madison -- Computer Sciences Dept. Path: newsfeed.cv.nrao.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!nntprelay.mathworks.com!ais.net!news1.chicago.iagnet.net!news2.chicago.iagnet.net!qual.net!iagnet.net!news.altair.com!uwvax!ssec.wisc.edu!billh Subject: VisAD Java class library for visualization Newsgroups: sci.astro.fits Sender: owner-fitsbits at marmoset.cv.nrao.edu Precedence: bulk The VisAD Java class library for interactive and collaborative visualization and analysis of numerical data is now available. VisAD features: The use of pure Java and Java RMI for platform independence and to support data sharing and real-time collaboration among geographically distributed users. Support for distributed computing is integrated at the lowest levels of the system. A general mathematical data model that can be adapted to virtually any numerical data, that supports data sharing among different users, different data sources and different scientific disciplines, and that provides transparent access to data independent of storage format and location (i.e., memory, disk or remote). Initially supported file formats include FITS, netCDF, HDF-EOS (via native library), Vis5D (via native library), GIF and JPEG. A general display model that supports interactive 3-D, data fusion, multiple data views, direct manipulation, collaboration, and virtual reality. Data analysis and computation integrated with visualization to support computational steering and other complex interaction modes. Support for two distinct communities: developers who create domain-specific systems based on VisAD, and users of those systems. VisAD is designed to support a wide variety of user interfaces, ranging from simple data browser applets to complex applications that allow groups of scientists to collaboratively develop data analysis algorithms. Developer extensibility in as many ways as possible. Complete source code, the VisAD Java Class Library Developers Guide and several example applications are freely available at: http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/~billh/visad.html You can get help from the VisAD mailing list. Join by sending an email message to majordomo at ssec.wisc.edu with: subscribe visad-list in the first line of the message body (not the subject line). VisAD requires Java 3D and jdk1.2beta3, available from Sun at: http://java.sun.com/ In its initial release VisAD will be more appropriate for complex interactions and collaboration than for operational production of visualizations of large data sets. Bill Hibbard whibbard at macc.wisc.edu