The Code

Requirements: GALAPAGOS depends on the IDL Astronomy User's Library (astrolib). The current version is available here: http://idlastro.gsfc.nasa.gov/.

The option to easily realise "threaded" execution of multiple instances of IDL with feedback about the status of individual "threads" to the main "driver" was provided with the introduction of the "IDL-to-IDL-bridge" in IDL 6.3 (for 32bit versions only; starting with IDL 6.4 also for 64bit environments). With this feature it is possible to start processing one object in "thread" a) and then continue with the next object in "thread" b). As this feature is deeply implemented into GALAPAGOS older versions of IDL are not supported.

Download: GALAPAGOS is available as a bundled package containing the IDL source code of the main routine and all subroutines that it depends on. This package is available through the following link (gzip-compressed tar-file):

Most recent version: GALAPAGOS 1.0 -- galapagos-1.0.tgz.

Development of this version of Galapagos has now stopped. For newer versions, please check here

Installation: Installing GALAPAGOS consists of two parts: putting the code in place and making the local IDL installation aware of it. In the following we assume that you downloaded galapagos-1.0.tgz into your home directory:

• decompress the contents of the downloaded package preferably into a separate directory "gala" in your home:

  > cd ~

  > tar xvfz galapagos-1.0.tgz

  This will create a new directory "gala" containing the code.

• load the astrolib and include the GALAPAGOS tree (gala) into the IDL session:

  IDL> astrolib

  IDL> !path+=';'+expand_path('+X')

  where X is the path to the GALAPAGOS directory. To make this change permanent, the IDL_PATH environment variable may be set to include "gala". Note, that this will make the GALAPAGOS-included (astrolib) routines the default. As the astrolib is constantly updated these might get outdated and might not be compatible with other routines.

Running the Code: To execute the code, type at the IDL command prompt:

IDL> galapagos, 'X'

where X is the path and filename to the main GALAPAGOS setup file. For details on setting up GALAPAGOS see Barden et al. (2012).