IDL 8.2.1 released!

I'm happy to announce that IDL 8.2.1 is now available for download from our website, exelisvis.com. This maintenance release includes updates to, primarily, (New) Graphics, the widget toolkit and the Workbench. Here's a more detailed listing of improvements: Graphics

• Added ColorBrewer color tables and a new COLORTABLE function (see last week's post)
• 'exponent' and 'scientific' tick units
• HISTOGRAM property for PLOT
• Keywords to NG routines can be abbreviated
• RELATIVE keyword for positioning annotations in a multiplot
• Specify AXIS location with strings 'left', 'right', 'top', 'bottom' and 'center'
• Can add a colorbar and a legend from the NG toolbar
• Can override the NG event handlers, providing an object

Language

• START keyword for *INDGEN routines
• Support for Proleptic Gregorian calendar with GREG2JUL and JUL2GREG routines

File Access

• CDF library upgraded to 3.4.0
• Can write netCDF-3 (classic) files larger than 2 GB

Widgets

• Can arrow through a WIDGET_COMBOBOX and get events
• WIDGET_TABLE cells can generate events when not editable
• Can scroll a WIDGET_TREE with the mouse wheel

Workbench

• IDL Class Hierarchy view for viewing properties and methods of super- and subclasses
• Macros! Can make custom macros and launch them from toolbar buttons or accelerator keys
• Redo button (hi, Linda!)

I've prepared a set of programmatic examples that demonstrate most of these improvements. Please download them from here [ZIP, ~4 MB]. Last, an editorial. Though 8.2.1 includes bug fixes (52 CRs closed), we’re also adding several new features, so it feels like more than just a maintenance release. I think this is a result of us getting better at the "release early, release often" software philosophy.