In today's information age, scientists and engineers must quickly and efficiently analyze extremely large sets of data. One of the best tools to accomplish this is Interactive Data Language (IDL ), a programming and visualization environment that facilitates numerical modeling, data analysis, and image processing. IDL's high-level language and powerful graphics capabilities allow users to write more flexible programs much faster than is possible with other programming languages. An Introduction to Programming with IDL enables students new to programming, as well as those with experience in other programming languages, to rapidly harness IDL's capabilities: fast, interactive performance; array syntax; dynamic data typing; and built-in graphics. Each concept is illustrated with sample code, including many complete short programs.

Part I IDL BASICS Chapter 1 - Introduction Chapter 2 - IDL Manuals and Books Chapter 3 - Interactive IDL Chapter 4 - IDL Scripts (Batch Jobs) Chapter 5 - Integer Constants and Variables Chapter 6 - Floating-Point Constants and Variables Chapter 7 - Using Arrays Chapter 8 - Searching and Sorting Chapter 9 - Structures PART II INPUT AND OUTPUT Chapter 10 - Printing Text Chapter 11 - Reading Text Chapter 12 - Writing and Reading Binary Files Chapter 13 - Reading NetCDF Files Chapter 14 - Writing NetCDF Files PART III PROGRAM STRUCTURE AND CONTROL Chapter 15 - Procedures and Functions Chapter 16 - Program Control PART IV GRAPHICS Chapter 17 - Line Graphs Chapter 18 - Contour and Surface Plots Chapter 19 - Mapping Chapter 20 - Printing Graphics Chapter 21 - Color and Image Display Chapter 22 - Animation PART V APPLICATIONS Chapter 23 - Statistics and Pseudorandom Numbers Chapter 24 - Interpolation Chapter 25 - Fourier Analysis Appendix A An IDL Style Guide Appendix B Example Procedures, Functions, Scripts, and Data Files