IDL is the trusted scientific programming language used across disciplines to extract meaningful visualizations from complex numerical data. With IDL you can interpret your data, expedite discoveries, and deliver powerful applications to market. Additionally, IDL is a truly cross-platform solution, providing support for today’s most popular operating systems, including Microsoft Windows®, Mac OS X, Linux, and Solaris.
Information
- License: commercial
- Path: /opt/idl/<version>
- Licensing: concurrent
- License server: zitlic01.desy.de only accessible from within the DESY network
Using IDL (linux)
Usually IDL can be invoked directly as a versioned command
[me@pal ~]$ /usr/local/bin/idl_8.4 # to start the command-line application or simply [me@pal ~]$ idl_8.4 # as /usr/local/bin will usually be in the PATH. [me@pal ~]$ idlde_8.4 # to start the full IDE
There is however no unversioned command "idl". To always use the most recent available version
[me@pal ~]$ module load idl # to use the newest version [me@pal ~]$ module load idl/8.4 # to use a specific version [me@pal ~]$ idlde
Installing IDL manually
The installation procedure is very similar for Linux, Mac OSX and Windows. All information needed can be found under IDL Downloads & Licenses. The folder is only accessible with a DESY username and password.There you can also found a detailed installation description for Linux. A detailed capture of the installation for Mac OSX can be found under IDL Installation for Mac OSX.
To connect to the license server - which is only possible inside the DESY network (eduroam or guest-nets are not sufficient):
- IDL 8.5 or older: save the attached license-file as <idl-installation-directory/license/license.dat
- IDL 8.6 or newer: start the "Harris License Administrator" at the end or after the installation, select "License Server" and specify Server zitlic03.desy.de with port 7070
Please note: IF you are a member of University of Hamburg you must choose the proper license server!
Installing IDL on Linux
If IDL is not installed on a Linux-host, you can install IDL via standard package tools. IDL comes in two variants, either as a full, local installation or by just creating links to AFS-hosted installations. To install the AFS-version:
[me@rhel ~]$ sudo yum install idl.8.4-alias idl.8.4-afs # RedHat EL based systems like SL6 [me@rhel ~]$ sudo yum install idl.8.4-alias idl.8.4 # For local installations if repos are configured accordingly [me@ubun ~]$ sudo apt-get install idl.8.4-afs idl.8.4-alias dl-optafs # Ubuntu Debian If repositories are not configured, packages can also be found in afs: [me@ubun ~]$ cd /afs/desy.de/packages/RPMS/System/Ubuntu/12/x86_64/afsware/ [me@ubun ~]$ sudo dpkgi -i dl-optafs_1.0-2_amd64.deb idl.8.4-afs_8.4-2_all.deb idl.8.4-alias_8.4-2_all.deb
Installing IDL on Windows
Provided your PC is a member of the DESY windows domain, use the Netinstall Installer & Uninstaller, IDL can be found under "Scientific Software".
If the PC is not part of the windows domain, please refer to the manual installation.
