Coyote's Guide to Traditional IDL Graphics (Non-printable PDF Format)

Product Information
Marketing campaigns have as their sole objective to convince you that life would be complete if only you had that shiny new gadget. But, what if it wasn't true? What if you had everything you need right here, right now?

We have seen five new graphics systems come and go in the past 10 years. Each was going to revolutionize the way you did graphics programming in IDL. But which graphics system is used by 90% of IDL users? You guessed it: the "old" graphics system, with its Plot, Contour, and Surface commands. Why? Because these traditional commands are fast, flexible, and firmly established in the minds and code of IDL programmers the world over.

All these traditional graphics programs need is to be refurbished to work correctly in a modern computer environment. This book describes exactly how to do that, using programs from the powerful Coyote Library. The techniques described in this book work in any version of IDL, including the one you are using today.

Whether you are a beginning IDL programmer, or a veteran of many years experience, you will find something new, interesting, and thought-provoking in the pages of this book. You will learn:

* Everything Coyote has learned in 25 years of IDL graphics programming.
* How  to write IDL programs that work identically on every graphics device.
* How to turn your 24-bit graphics card into money well spent.
* How to display graphics output in resizeable graphics windows.
* How to create high quality output for presentations and web pages -- automatically.
* How to take full advantage of the powerful Coyote Graphics System

After reading this book, you will not only write graphics programs that duplicate the functionality of the latest of the "new" graphics systems, but you will write programs that are faster (orders of magnitude faster, in some cases!) and simpler. Plus, you will be able to create new displays of graphical information that are simply not possible in the new graphics systems. This is the book that I wish was written for me when I was starting to write IDL programs. This is the book that will change the way you write IDL programs forever!

Ben Tupper had this to say about the book:

I have just perused Chapter 12, "Using the Coyote Graphics System", and
I am thunderstruck (again!) by what a brilliant thing you have done for
simple-to-use-right-out-of-the-box-but-wicked-powerful graphics.  This
is exactly what all of us need whether we are just cutting our teeth or
we are getting long in the tooth.  It's freakin' marvelous!

Unconditional Guarantee

This book is, to quote an advertisement from one of Coyote's favorite beers, "reassuringly expensive." You might wonder why. In a word: color. This is a book about computer graphics and it was important to me that every figure in the book be printed in full color. While less expensive than it used to be to print an entire book in full color, it is still more expensive than printing in traditional black and white. But this was a non-negotiable requirement for me to produce the book I wanted to write.

That said, I don't want price to be the factor that keeps you from buying this book. If you feel the book is too expensive for you (perhaps you are a student), then contact me and suggest a price you would be willing to pay for the book. I am so certain that this book will save you untold hours of IDL programming grief that I am willing to back it up with an unconditional, money-back guarantee. If this book doesn't completely exceed your expectations of the time and money you will save writing IDL programs, then return it for a full refund. If you feel in the end it was worth its original price, you always have the option of purchasing IDL consulting contracts to assuage your guilt (should you feel any). Coyote and I make our living providing value to our customers. If we do our jobs correctly, we are certain you will be satisfied with the result. In any case, Coyote has always been more interested in fame than fortune. We want you to have this book!

Price: $19.95

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