How Does Color Work in IDL?

QUESTION: Alright, I'm totally confused. Can you please explain to me how color works in IDL?

ANSWER: There are any number of articles on this web page that explain how color works in IDL, but I don't think I have ever seen this information collected in a single place before. To that end, I am making a chapter of my upcoming book Coyote's Guide to Traditional Graphics available as a PDF file. The book will be published in early 2011. The chapter is entitled Working with Color. If this chapter doesn't explain color thoroughly enough for you, or if you find yourself still confused about something, send me a note. I want to make the subject as clear as possible before publication of the book itself.