Overview of Batch Files

A batch file contains one or more IDL statements or commands. Each line of the batch file is read and executed before proceeding to the next line. This makes batch files different from main-level programs, which are compiled as a unit before being executed, and named programs, in which all program modules are compiled as an unit before being executed. A file created by the JOURNAL routine is an example of an batch file. Program types and more information on journaling are described in Creating and Running Programs in IDL.

Note
Batch files are sometimes referred to as include files, since they can be used to "include" the multiple IDL statements contained in the file in another file.

See the following topics for more information on batch files:

Tip
For information on how to specify a batch file as a startup file that is automatically executed when IDL is started, see Startup File (Using IDL).