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Version 1.4.9-26  

Recent ISIS Changes

 
    Changes since 1.4.9 (released Nov 2007)
    ---------------------------------------
     1.  Fixed cfitsio module bug (fits_write_binary_table)
     2.  Restored support for mt_calc_model optional arguments
         contrib_flag and line_list.
     3.  Added stub for Tcl_PkgProvide to enable loading xspec12
         local models; updated interface for _load_xspec_local_models().
     4.  Minor changes to support building isis on cygwin.
     5.  Fixed edit_par bug that could un-define the current model
     6.  Fixed bug that that prevented saving the S-Lang readline history.
     7.  Fixed memory leak in median function.
     8.  Xspec module code generator now handles model.dat files that
         don't end with a blank line.
     9.  Updated RMF file input code to support change in OGIP standard;
         F_CHAN values, previously 2 bytes, may now be 4 bytes.
    10.  Fixed sign error in poisson random generator (src/random.c);
         constant -0.059 had the wrong sign.
    11.  Fixed plot_quit bug that disabled all subsequent plotting.
    12.  Slang errors now generate one line of traceback by default.
    13.  Fixed bug in model_spectrum interface, presumably broken
         since the introduction of line modifiers.
    14.  Fixed error handling bug in atomic database input code.
    15.  Update cfitsio module
    16.  Another cfitsio module update; fixed bug in handling of
         isis_set_par_hook
    17.  load_data was failing when the 2nd parameter was an array of
         length one.
    18.  Fixed array indexing bug in conf_joint.
    19.  Added NULL pointer check to src/histogram.c:Hist_get_flux_corr_weights
    20.  Added maplib module (contributed by John E. Davis)
    21.  Added support for systematic errors.
    22.  Update cfitsio module to version 0.4.3
    23.  Support linking to pgplot and cfitsio in HEASOFT distribution
    24.  Update default search path definition.
    25.  load_par provides more informative error messages
    26.  automatically install wrapper script on Darwin

    Changes since 1.4.8 (released Sept 2007)
    ---------------------------------------
     1.  If a script contains an isis_main() function, isis will
         execute that function and exit. If the --force-interactive
         option is used, isis will prompt for input after executing
         isis_main().  Executable scripts can now use
               #! /usr/bin/env isis
         isis-script is no longer required.
     2.  Added support for the S-Lang debugger.  Use the --sldb
         command-line option to invoke the debugger.
     3.  Added support for the S-Lang profiler.  Use the --prof
         command-line option to invoke the profiler.
     4.  create_aped_line_modifier now supports modifiers that
         take additional user-defined arguments.
     5.  xspec table models now load parameter defaults from the
         table file.
     6.  Changed line modifier interface to provide plasma state
         information.
     7.  Changed line profile interface to make it more general
     8.  Line profile and line modifier interfaces both support
         functions that take no parameters.
     9.  Changes to support analysis of INTEGRAL data.
    10.  Reorganized xspec module build/install logic
    11.  Added xspec 12 model list to the source code distribution
         (it's no longer necessary to run the xspec module code
         generator to use isis with xspec 12.)
    12.  Improved performance of APED spectral models that use a line modifier
    13.  isis-script --sldb foo.sl runs isis_main automatically.
    14.  Fixed assign_rsp bug.  First listed RMF was not re-defining
         the dataset grid when multiple RMFs were assigned to one dataset.
    15.  All internal pgplot calls now use the pgplot module.
    16.  Removed obsolete gpileup kernel module.
    17.  Updated cfitsio module

    Changes since 1.4.7 (released June 2007)
    ---------------------------------------
     1.  add_abundances handles necessary typecasts
     2.  Help hooks now return strings
     3.  Fixed potential double-free bug in error handling code
          hist-cmds.c:set_notice_using_mask, set_notice_using_list
     4.  Models for flux-corrected data should not include the
         instrumental background.
     5.  If present, rebin_error_hook manages error propagation
         associated with the background (see set_rebin_error_hook).
     6.  Added support for AREASCAL column in PHA files.
     7.  APED spectral models now support user-defined modification
         of line emissivity functions, with fittable parameters.
         See the create_aped_fun() documentation for details.
     8.  APED spectral models now support user-defined line profiles.
         See the create_aped_fun() documentation for details.

    Changes since 1.4.6 (released May 2007)
    ---------------------------------------
     1.  Xspec module now provides better access to elemental
         abundances, photoionization cross-sections and NEI ionization
         fractions.  (See xspec_elabund, xspec_gphoto, xspec_ionsneqr,
         xspec_phfit2, xspec_photo)

    Changes since 1.4.5 (released Mar 2007)
    ---------------------------------------
     1.  Updated cfitsio module to version 0.3.5
     2.  Added put_model_counts, put_model_flux, put_convolved_model_flux
     3.  Added eval_stat_counts, eval_stat_flux
     4.  Clearer load_par warning when model string exceeds input buffer size
     5.  Prompt text is ignored if it appears as a prefix on the
         command line in interactive mode.
     6.  Fixed bug in application of optional weights in combine_datasets.
         Weights had been applied to both model and data sums.  Now, the
         weights are applied only to the data sum.
     7.  Added yshift kernel
     8.  Expanded documentation for get_combined to clarify how it
         might be used with spectra in flux units.
     9.  Voigt profile norm now includes factor 1/(sqrt(PI)*Doppler_width)
         (set Isis_Voigt_Is_Normalized=0 to restore the previous behavior)
    10.  Added get_cfun2
    11.  Replaced list_par, save_par, list_data, list_arf, list_rmf with
         slang implementations that provide more versatile output redirection
    12.  Added get_flux_corr_weights
    13.  Updated cfitsio module to version 0.3.8rc1

    Changes since 1.4.4 (released Feb 2007)
    ---------------------------------------
     1.  Added backtrace capability
     2.  Added pha-grouping functions from Mike Nowak
         (regroup_file, use_file_group, i2x_group, x2i_group)
         along with new intrinsic variable, Isis_Use_PHA_Grouping.
     3.  Updated autoconf support for Fortran.  Fortran compiler
         and flags are now specified with FC and FCFLAGS instead of
         F77 and FFLAGS.

    Changes since 1.4.3 (released Jan 2007)
    ---------------------------------------
     1.  Error handling uses S-Lang exceptions more consistently
     2.  Installation procedure should be simpler.
     3.  fit_flux is independent of the fit-kernel.

    Changes since 1.4.2 (released Sep 2006)
    ---------------------------------------
     1.  Numbering of fake datasets should not cause the dataset
         list to get out of order.
     2.  set_plot_options(get_plot_options()) is a no-op.
     3.  flux_corr skips ignored data
     4.  xspec.sl is idempotent
     5.  Static-linking the xspec module works again.
     6.  Added get_outer_viewport, set_outer_viewport.
         ** Note that in the past, the low-level pgplot function
            _pgsvp was often used to set the viewport for plots
            created using isis intrinsic plot functions.  With this
            change, _pgsvp will no longer have the desired effect
            on these plots. Use set_outer_viewport instead of _pgsvp.
     7.  Changed handling of command-line arguments by isis-script.
         Scripts no longer intercept command line arguments supported
         by isis.
     8.  Removed -l command-line option.

    Changes since 1.4.1 (released Sep 2006)
    ---------------------------------------
     1.  Ignored data ranges are now omitted from plots
         rather than being plotted as all zeros.
     2.  Loading a parameter file can now over-ride parameter functions
     3.  In batch mode, a function named isis_main or slsh_main will
         be called automatically, unless over-ridden by the '-t'
         command-line argument.
     4.  The configure script includes more thorough checks for
         compatibility of GNU readline libraries.
     5.  Binary packages can now find glob.sl

    Changes since 1.3.4 (released Jul 2006)
    ---------------------------------------
     1.  Added atexit() function.
     2.  Added set_prompt() function (from Mike Noble)
     3.  set_par() now supports regular expressions (based on
         code from John E. Davis).
     4.  oplot behaves like plot if no plots have been drawn
         (from Mike Noble)
     5.  Extensive rewrite of xspec module; added support for
         new model interfaces introduced with xspec12.
     6.  Added support for reading BACKSCAL, BG_COUNTS and
         BG_AREA columns from type I and type II PHA files.
     7.  Refined computation of background uncertainties
         under rebinning; dropped the Gehrels approximation for
         the background uncertainty when the number of background
         counts is small.

    Changes since 1.3.3 (released Apr 2006)
    ---------------------------------------
     1.  Added eval_fun2() to support evaluating a fit-function
         on an arbitrary grid without modifying the current
         fit_fun() definition.
     2.  add_slang_function() now supports functions defined by
         reference.
     3.  set_param_default_hook() now supports passing additional
         arguments to the parameter default hook.
     4.  get_fit_method() and get_fit_statistic() now return
         strings containing the complete, current option settings.
     5.  Operator functions should now be invoked as
          operator(id, operand(k)) instead of
          operator(operand(k), id)
         In other words, the integer index should be the first
         argument.
     6.  Fit-functions can now take arbitrary additional parameters.
         For example, something like this:
            fit_fun ("foo(1, &bar, array, baz(1))");
         is now supported.  For details, see the add_slang_function
         documentation.
     7.  Added GNU readline support (based on patches from Mike Noble)

    Changes since 1.3.2 (released Jan 2006)
    ---------------------------------------
     1.  set_rebin_error_hook now takes a reference to a function
     2.  updated --with-ciao configure option
     3.  Fixed bug in propagation of background uncertainties for
         rebinned data.
     4.  Added Gehrels_Threshold intrinsic variable to provide
         more control over handling of uncertainties in low-count
         data.

    Changes since 1.3.1 (released Nov 2005)
    ---------------------------------------
     1.  xspec module now supports xspec12
     2.  Added support for fit-constraints (see set_fit_constraint)
     3.  cursor returns values which account for log-scale axes
     4.  Added get_plot_options/set_plot_options

    Changes since 1.3.0 (released Sep 2005)
    ---------------------------------------
     1.  Modified region_counts/region_flux to handle both emission
         and absorption features.
     2.  Modified internal algorithm for rebinning flux-corrected data
         allowing rebin_data/group_data to automatically rebin
         flux-corrected data without running flux_corr again.
     3.  Added isis_fit_improved_hook feature (see conf)

    Changes since 1.2.9 (released Jun 2005)
    ---------------------------------------
     1.  Changed the method used to set parameter defaults for
         S-Lang fit-functions.  See set_param_default_hook().
     2.  Added Voigt profile fit-function
     3.  Modified internal parameter handling logic to better support
         re-defining fit-functions.  Tied parameters are now more
         robust against changes in the fitted model.

    Changes since 1.2.8 (released Apr 2005)
    ---------------------------------------
     1.  Support more intuitive syntax in set_par_fun() 2nd argument.
         See set_par_fun() help page for details.
     2.  Update xspec module to support HEASOFT-6.0
     3.  Update to slang2 definition of require/provide
     4.  Update to include slang2 help-file support
     5.  Prompt namespace is now named "isis"
     6.  Added support for backscale vectors defined via _define_bgd
         and set_data_backscale.
     7.  Handling of multiple merged grids should now work as
         advertised.  Earlier versions used the first merged grid
         encountered for all subsequent cases.

    Changes since 1.2.7 (released Mar 2005)
    ---------------------------------------
     1.  Update cfitsio module (slcfitsio-0.3.2)
     2.  Added rebin_combined()
     3.  Added support for slang-2 debugger.
     4.  Added fit-method "minim" (alternate simplex algorithm)
     5.  Removed internal limit to support reading RMFs from Swift

    Changes since 1.2.6 (released Jan 2005)
    ---------------------------------------
     1.  Added set_dataset_metadata/get_dataset_metadata,
         load_data_hook, list_data_hook
     2.  Fixed bug in rebin_data() associated with handling of rebin
         masks with zeros at the short wavelength end.
     3.  Fixed bug introduced by recent changing in handling of
         zero-based norm indices in add_slang_function.
     4.  Updated --with-ciao option to work with new Ciao release;
         see the INSTALL.txt file for details.
     5.  Added support for comment header in fit-model parameter files
         (comment lines have long been supported, just not as a
         header, preceding the model definition line).
     6.  pgplot module intrinsics are working again on Mac OS X.
     7.  Uncertainties computed for background-subtracted, rebinned,
         flux-corrected data now properly includes the background
         contribution.
     8.  Fixed obscure bug in fit-parameter lookups when fit-functions
         are redefined multiple times while in use.
     9.  Added isis_start_eval_hook()
    10.  New intrinsic variable Ignore_PHA_Response_Keywords.
         If non-zero, isis will ignore the ANCRFILE and RESPFILE
         keywords in PHA file headers.  Default value is zero.
    11.  New intrinsic variable Rmf_OGIP_Compliance.
         If zero, isis will require less strict adherence to the
         OGIP standard format for RMFs.
    12.  Update cfitsio module;  new version includes many
         improvements and greatly expanded documentation.
    13.  Update pgplot module;  the handling of 2D arrays changed.
    14.  rebin_dataset now supports rebinning the background

    Changes since 1.2.4 (released Nov 2004)
    ---------------------------------------
     1.  Updated cfitsio module
     2.  Better handling of ylog/yrange transitions in rplot_counts/rplot_flux
     3.  Use unit exposure time when fitting flux-corrected data.
     4.  Added better Levenberg-Marquardt implementation (lmdif);
         the previous implementation is still available, in part
         because it provides certain features not available with lmdif.
     5.  add_slang_function now uses zero-based indices to specify
         norm parameters
     6.  Added --with-atomdb configure option to specify path at compile time

    Changes since 1.2.2 (released Jul 2004)
    ---------------------------------------
     1.  Update xspec module to support built-in local models.
     2.  Updated install documentation to resolve potential
         Mac OS X build problems.
     3.  Added support for setting plot symbol size independent of
         character height; see point_size();
     4.  Plot color 0 now correctly gives the default background color
     5.  Internal changes to support migration to slang-2.0
     6.  Support kernel option to control model computation
         in ignored energy ranges during fitting.
     7.  Rebinned RMFs now use threshold=0 to avoid resolution problems.

    Changes since 1.2.1 (released Apr 2004)
    ---------------------------------------
     1.  Fix bug in application of s/n threshold during
         flux-correction of rebinned data.
     2.  Added isis_set_par_hook()
     3.  Added functions get_rmf_arf_grid(), get_rmf_data_grid()
     4.  Added support for user-defined model evaluation grids,
         primarily to support extended grids for convolution models.
         See set_eval_grid_method()
     5.  Added isis_prefit_hook().
     6.  Added add_abundances() function.
     7.  get_abundances() now returns a Struct_Type.
     8.  Fixed bug in single-parameter confidence limits computation:
         When confidence limits were computed for one of only two
         variable parameters, the remaining free parameter was not
         varied during the fit.  With the bug-fix, the free parameter
         is varied correctly.
     9.  New function mt_create_from_struct()

    Changes since 1.1.8 (released Feb 2004)
    ---------------------------------------
     1. set_rebin_error_hook(id,NULL) now works as it should
     2. Fit parameter names are now parsed on input
     3. Added _phabs to xspec-module; _wabs now returns wabs
        instead of phabs.
     4. Resolved ambiguity in definition of model_flux by
        introducing "convolved_model_flux".  Now, model_flux
        always means \int dE S(E) -- the physical spectrum model
        integrated over the bin width.  The convolved_model_flux
        is this function folded through the RMF, \int dE R(h,E)S(E),
        and is useful primarily when dealing with flux-corrected
        data.  Functions have been provided to get, plot and
        oplot this quantity.
     5. Added optimization to improve performance when fitting
        multiple datasets with overlapping wavelength grids.
        See set_eval_grid_method().
     6. Modified rebin_data to ensure that the mask array includes
        trailing noticed bins (at the long wavelength end)
        containing zero counts into the last "good" bin

    Changes since 1.1.7 (released Nov 2003)
    ----------------------------------------
     1. Added frame_time to get_data_info() structure
     2. Fixed bug in temp storage allocation logic when combining datasets
     3. prand() no longer modifies array arguments
     4. Added list_free function to list only free parameters
     5. xylabel now works transparently with log axis scales
     6. Added support for lheasoft-5.3
     7. Corrected cash statistic handling of cases model=0 or data=0
     8. New connect_points() option suppresses plotting of points,
        drawing the line only.

    Changes since 1.1.6 (released Sep 2003)
    ----------------------------------------
     1. flux_corr_model_counts() now populates the model_flux
        rather than the data_flux.
     2. Bugfix - under certain conditions, closing a non-existent plot
        window and then opening a plot window could cause a segv.
     3. interpol() wasn't extrapolating properly.

    Changes since 1.1.5 (released Aug 2003)
    ----------------------------------------
     1. Changed definition of reverse indices for both
        histogram and histogram2d.  The dimensions of the
        histogram2d result now match the input grid sizes.
     2. seed_random() bugfix.
     3. set_arf_info() bugfix.  It was incorrectly modifying
        the ARF size.

    Changes since 1.1.4 (released July 2003)
    ----------------------------------------
     1. Support optional weight argument for combine_datasets()
     2. Add get_combined() function to simplify handling
        dataset combinations.
     3. Added set_post_model_hook ()
     4. Fixed obscure isis bug which could cause a segv if
        flux_corr() were called from inside a fit-function.
     5. Enhanced set_par(), assign_arf(), assign_rmf() to
        handle more combinations of vector parameters.
     6. Fixed bug in handling of XMM/EPIC rmfs

    Changes since 1.1.3 (released June 2003)
    ----------------------------------------
     1. Provided specialized FFT option to speed pileup fits
     2. Fixed bug in line_info() which caused intermittent
        problems on some architectures.
     3. [*] Changed thermal line profile sigma definition,
        adding a factor of 0.5 to the vturb^2 term.
     4. Added all_arfs() and all_rmfs() functions.
     5. rplot_counts()/rplot_flux() is now consistent with the
        current fit-statistic.  This required a change in the
        interface for user-defined fit-statistics.
     6. list_data and list_arf optionally show data filenames;
        filenames also available via get_data_info.  Related new
        intrinsic variable is 'Isis_List_Filenames'.
     7. Support listing physical units of fit-function parameters.
     8. array_fit() now supports verbose mode.

    Changes since 1.1.2 (released May 2003)
    ----------------------------------------
     1. Added workaround for a known pgplot bug which sometimes
        incorrectly plots the last histogram bin width.
     2. Added factor_rsp() to support factoring an RSP matrix
        into an ARF and a normalized RMF.
     3. Removed unused parameter 'npars' from the interface
        definition for user-defined fit-statistics.
        see add_slang_statistic().
     4. xspec local model input now handles models not written
        in Fortran.
     5. Fixed bug in plot_elev() - plot paging and character
        size were not properly updated.

    Changes since 1.1.1 (released May 2003)
    ----------------------------------------
     1. Added plot_linelist() function
     2. Updated handling of abundance tables; added new function
        get_abundances()

    Changes since 1.1.0 (released Apr 2003)
    ----------------------------------------
     1. get/set_arf_info now includes fracexpo
     2. improved plot format inheritance logic
     3. added add_help_file()
     4. added set_fake()
     5. Fixed bug in handling of dataset groups.
     6. Faster Poisson random generator

    Changes since 1.0.50 (released Mar 2003)
    ----------------------------------------
    o xspec module now loads via require("xspec")
    o script and module load paths now use slang-1.4.9 intrinsics
    o get_kernel() now returns kernel parameter string.
    o new list_kernels() function
    o new path-searching functionality.
        Related functions include
           get_isis_load_path()          get_isis_module_path()
           set_isis_load_path()          set_isis_module_path()
           prepend_to_isis_load_path()   prepend_to_isis_module_path()
           append_to_isis_load_path()    append_to_isis_module_path()
        The older functions
           add_to_isis_load_path()
           add_to_isis_module_path()
        are now deprecated.
    o Added _orplot_counts(), _orplot_flux()
    o Improved/simplified startup procedures for binary and cdrom
      distributions
    o Fixed bug in FITS RMF input code that, in very rare cases,
      could cause a core dump.
    o Updated cfitsio module

    Changes since 1.0.48
    --------------------
    o fixed bug which sometimes allowed fit-function to be
      evaluated at parameter values outside specified limits.
    o readcol now handles out-of-order columns correctly
    o update to remove conflict with cumsum function in slang-1.4.9

    Changes since 1.0.41
    --------------------
    o Added support for grouping datasets.
    o Fixed bug in exposure-scaling of instrument background
      when the ARF is included in the RMF.
    o Fixed bug in exposure-scaling of numbers read from plot by ifit_fun
    o Added support for fitting operator models (such as
      convolution models in xspec).  Updated xspec module to
      include convolution models.
    o Read TSTART keyword from spectrum file header.
    o By default, isis now installs into /usr/local/isis. After
      installing, the source-code directory can now be deleted.
    o Added shift, any, howmany
    o rebin function handles monotonic decreasing grids, etc.
    o histogram function ignores NaNs.
    o bugfix: unassign_rmf() wasn't looping over dataset lists
    o readcol now skips blank lines
    o Removed the Conf_Map_Fail_Hook and Conf_Map_Save_Hook
      intrinsic variables.  These hooks should now be provided
      as struct fields.  See conf_map_counts for details.
    o conf_map_counts/flux now supports mask function to speed
      computations by avoiding user-specified regions of parameter space
    o bugfix - flux_corr was zeroing model_flux

    Changes since 1.0.35
    --------------------
    o get_data_info/set_data_info can modify target name string
    o fixed bug in allocation of subplex workspace
    o errorbars() supports plotting every Nth errorbar.
    o set_frame_line_width/set_line_width functions improve control
      over plot line widths.
    o support plots with axes X (Y)-axes increasing leftward (downward)
    o workaround apparent pgplot bug to properly align low-resolution
      contour plots
    o [o]hplot now takes a Struct_Type
    o _A() enhanced to take a Struct_Type
    o New functions ignore_list, notice_list
    o Added flux_corr_model_counts
    o Port to Mac OS X; moved INSTALL to INSTALL.txt to avoid
      build problems on the case-insensitive Mac filesystem.
    o Added seed_random() function to seed the random number generator

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