The Power of IDL

IDL, the Interactive Data Language, is the ideal software for data analysis, visualization, and cross-platform application development. IDL integrates a powerful, array-oriented language with numerous mathematical analysis and graphical display techniques, thus giving you incredible flexibility.

Interactive Analysis

A few lines of IDL can do the job of hundreds of lines of Java, FORTRAN,
or C — without losing flexibility or performance. Using IDL, tasks that require days or weeks of programming with traditional languages can be accomplished in hours. Explore data interactively using IDL commands and then create complete applications by writing IDL programs.

Data Analysis and Signal Processing

Use IDL to read data in a wide variety of formats — from simple ASCII to structured data formats like HDF, CDF, and NetCDF to modern image formats such as JPEG2000. Fit irregularly-sampled data to a regular grid, and use IDL's signal processing routines to extract and analyze the signals contained therein, using techniques from traditional filtering and transform operations to statistical methods such as prediction analysis. Use IDL's powerful graphical visualization tools to view the results of your analysis in two- and three-dimensional visualizations.

Image Processing and Display

IDL reads most common image files with a single command. Once you've imported image data into IDL, use a wide variety of image processing techniques to filter out noise, expose anomalies, and highlight true data characteristics. Create publication-quality, fully-annotated image displays.

 

 

Combine Data and Maps

Easily overlay sampled data on a map display to extract geographical information from your data. Modify the map projection and coordinates to inspect any location on the globe.

 

 

 

Rapid Application Development

Use the powerful code development and debugging tools of the IDL Workbench to rapidly create complex applications in the IDL language. Distribute your code to other IDL users, or provide a compiled version that runs in the freely-available IDL Virtual Machine.

 

 

 

User Interface Toolkit

IDL's user interface toolkit allows you to quickly develop graphical user interfaces entirely in IDL. Create simple interfaces with only a few lines of code using IDL's built-in widgets, or use the iTools framework to build complex interactive applications in a fraction of the time you would spend creating a similar interface in other languages.