Creating GILDAS Tasks

GILDAS tasks (e.g. for task ``taskname'') are composed of 4 different parts :

• The program, taskname.exe.
• A help text file, taskname.hlp
• The initialization file, taskname.init, read by commands RUN and SUBMIT to get from the user the task input parameters.
• Optionally, a checker file, taskname.check, read by commands RUN and SUBMIT, to check the input parameters and pass them to the task. It is optional: SIC will use a suitable default derived from the initialisation file when the checker file does not exist.

Tasks and their associated files are searched for in the task#dir: search path (by default ``./;gag_tasks:'').

The structure of the program should always be the same :

• An input parameters definition part. No image creation or access should be made before all parameters are defined.
• An input and output image mapping part. If possible all necessary images should be defined in this part.
• One or more subroutines performing the processing. No new image should be created or accessed in the subroutines. The subroutines should preferably not make any reference to any common.
• A cleanup part. An error status should be returned to the system in case of error through a call to SYSEXI.