Overview of IDL Program Types
In addition to being a useful interactive data analysis tool, IDL is a powerful programming language. Many of IDL’s programming language features and constructs can be used either interactively at the IDL command line or as part of a larger program, which can itself be invoked at the IDL command line or by other programs. A program may or may not be compiled before execution. The type of programs you use in IDL will depend upon your tasks.
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Program Type |
Description |
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$MAIN$ Program |
Repeat a series of command line statements or interactively change variable values in a program file. These short programs or procedures are called $MAIN$ (main-level) programs. They are not explicitly named, and cannot be called from other programs. See Creating $MAIN$ Programs for details. |
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Named Program File ( |
Create programs and applications; you can create programs for data analysis or visualization using one or more named program files (*.pro). |
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Include File |
You can create .pro files which can be included (embedded) within other code using the @filename statement. |
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Batch File |
You can automate routine or lengthy processing tasks using a batch file, which contains one or more IDL statements or commands. Each line of the file is read and executed before proceeding to the next line. |
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SAVE File ( |
Share programs and distribute applications. You can create a SAVE file containing data or named program files in a |