Artemis Software Issue
Hello, Bruce and co I am a user of extended xray edge EXAFS spectroscopy and I have what I hope is a well formulated question regarding your software that you have developed. I recently downloaded a fresh copy of Iffefit from the CARS website, but the same issue continues to persist. In version 0.8.012 of Atena, I have noticed that if I ever close the "graphics window #1" the program alerts me that "the window was closed" and the software shuts down. Afterwards, I cannot restart the software no matter how hard I try. I have lost a great deal of my extended xray XAFS and XANES work from this aggreviating software issue. Is there some kind of patch I can download? The updates don't seem to work when I startup the software. Is there a newer version of the software I could use? Please let me know how to fix the problem. Thanks!
Don't close that window!
Sent from my iPad
On Oct 25, 2013, at 9:43 AM, "James Apollo"
I think it is a nice joke for a weekend ;) James - this is a part of the program, never close this window! W dniu 13-10-25 15:38, James Apollo pisze:
Hello, Bruce and co
I am a user of extended xray edge EXAFS spectroscopy and I have what I hope is a well formulated question regarding your software that you have developed. I recently downloaded a fresh copy of Iffefit from the CARS website, but the same issue continues to persist. In version 0.8.012 of Atena, I have noticed that if I ever close the "graphics window #1" the program alerts me that "the window was closed" and the software shuts down. Afterwards, I cannot restart the software no matter how hard I try. I have lost a great deal of my extended xray XAFS and XANES work from this aggreviating software issue.
Is there some kind of patch I can download? The updates don't seem to work when I startup the software. Is there a newer version of the software I could use? Please let me know how to fix the problem.
Thanks!
_______________________________________________ Ifeffit mailing list Ifeffit@millenia.cars.aps.anl.gov http://millenia.cars.aps.anl.gov/mailman/listinfo/ifeffit
So... version 0.8.012 of Athena was released in January of 2003 -- nearly 11 years ago. In the intervening years I have made dozens of updates to the software. This includes the retirement of the 0.8 series of the software and, several years ago, the beginning of the 0.9 series. I have publically and repeatedly stated that I no longer support the 0.8 series. Against my better judgement, I am replying to your email. The problem with the plot window was among the VERY LONG LIST of improvement to the software that came with the 0.9 series. To my mind, your frustration is a problem entirely of your own making. What's even more annoying to me than such a ridiculous question from a self-proclaimed "xafsmaster" is that two of the so-called experts who weigh in on this mailing list chose to respond to your email with a joke rather than a suggestion to use software written in the current decade. Honestly, sometimes I wonder why I even bother with all this.... B On 10/25/2013 09:38 AM, James Apollo wrote:
Hello, Bruce and co
I am a user of extended xray edge EXAFS spectroscopy and I have what I hope is a well formulated question regarding your software that you have developed. I recently downloaded a fresh copy of Iffefit from the CARS website, but the same issue continues to persist. In version 0.8.012 of Atena, I have noticed that if I ever close the "graphics window #1" the program alerts me that "the window was closed" and the software shuts down. Afterwards, I cannot restart the software no matter how hard I try. I have lost a great deal of my extended xray XAFS and XANES work from this aggreviating software issue.
Is there some kind of patch I can download? The updates don't seem to work when I startup the software. Is there a newer version of the software I could use? Please let me know how to fix the problem.
Thanks!
_______________________________________________ Ifeffit mailing list Ifeffit@millenia.cars.aps.anl.gov http://millenia.cars.aps.anl.gov/mailman/listinfo/ifeffit
-- Bruce Ravel ------------------------------------ bravel@bnl.gov National Institute of Standards and Technology Synchrotron Science Group at NSLS --- Beamlines U7A, X24A, X23A2 Building 535A Upton NY, 11973 Homepage: http://xafs.org/BruceRavel Software: https://github.com/bruceravel
I think the most direct answer would be
Is there some kind of patch I can download?
No. See below.
The updates don't seem to work when I startup the software.
Can you elaborate?
Is there a newer version of the software I could use? Please let me know how to fix the problem.
Yes. http://bruceravel.github.io/demeter/ You may have seen this link at the top of http://cars9.uchicago.edu/ifeffit/Downloads right above where it says the older versions are no longer supported. --Matt In more detail on why the first answer is "No", I am perfectly willing to take full responsibility. The underlying analysis engine for Athena (Ifeffit) was written in Fortran, mostly between 1998 and 2001. At that time, using Fortran was expedient and the alternatives all had significant disadvantages (taken much more time to develop, been less portable, been non-free, and so on). One consequence of using Fortran was that the graphics libraries were very limited. The PGPLOT library was the best candidate. This was due in part to the fact that it could be run on Windows. So, the fact that you have a window with a plot AT ALL is really based on those software choices. And, in fairness, scientific software written before 2005 all tends to have mediocre graphics. It turns out that the last significant change to the PGPLOT library was in the mid 1990s and the last change at all is from 2001. The library does not allow for communication between the underlying program and the graphics window when you click the X. On Linux/Mac, the user is not allowed to close this window. On Windows, there is no way to prevent the user from doing that, and there is no way to detect this has happened. So, not clicking that button really was the best answer. Now the answer is "do not click that button OR use Demeter". Hopefully, "OR use Larch" is a reasonable answer too. An additional "OR" in that answer is "help us make the software better", by actually helping write this stuff. This gives you many choices: a) use the older, well-used, but no longer supported for bug fixes Athena / Ifeffit code. Don't click the X, don't expect support. b) use Demeter, which fully replaces Athena/Artemis, mostly using the Ifeffit library (still in Fortran). c) use Larch, which fully replaces Ifeffit, but does not give pre-packaged GUIs (for EXAFS, ..., yet). d) help us write the software. Clearly, a) is your worst option. Option b) will probably get you going on your immediate problem in the least amount of time. Option d) is, by far, the best option. Some of you may think I am joking, but I am not. If you think that option is unreasonable, please use the oldest version of Athena you can find.
On Oct 25, 2013, at 1:24 PM, Bruce Ravel
Honestly, sometimes I wonder why I even bother with all this....
B
You bother, I would guess, because of the enormous amount of sound science that has been generated all around the world with the help of this software and its predecessors, in a way that strives for egalitarian accessibility with low barriers to entry. --Scott Calvin Sarah Lawrence College
participants (6)
-
"Dr. Dariusz A. Zając" -
Anatoly I Frenkel -
Bruce Ravel -
James Apollo -
Matt Newville -
Scott Calvin