Compiling and Running an IDL Program

To compile and run an IDL program using the IDL Workbench:

  1. Open the file in the IDL editor:
    • Use the Project Explorer view to select a file located in one of your projects. Double-click on the file to open it in an editor.
    • Alternately, use File → Open File to select a file from the file system. For example, you could open the file examples\demo\demosrc\d_uscensus.pro from the IDL installation directory.
  2. Compile the file by clicking the Compile button compile_button.gif on the toolbar, or by selecting Run → Compile filename, where filename is the name of the file opened in the IDL editor.
  3. Execute the file by clicking the Run button run_button.gif on the toolbar, or by selecting Run → run filename, where filename is the name of the file opened in the IDL editor.

    4. Note
    You do not need to explicitly compile your program each time you run it. Clicking the Run button will compile the file automatically if it has not yet been compiled. You do need to recompile your program if you compiled it and then made changes to the source code.