This document describes the Fortran-callable subroutine interface that
is provided as part of the CFITSIO library (which is written in ANSI
C). This is a companion document to the CFITSIO User's Guide which
should be consulted for further information about the underlying
CFITSIO library. In the remainder of this document, the terms FITSIO
and CFITSIO are interchangable and refer to the same library.
FITSIO/CFITSIO is a machine-independent library of routines for reading
and writing data files in the FITS (Flexible Image Transport System)
data format. It can also read IRAF format image files and raw binary
data arrays by converting them on the fly into a virtual FITS format
file. This library was written to provide a powerful yet simple
interface for accessing FITS files which will run on most commonly used
computers and workstations. FITSIO supports all the features described
in the official NOST definition of the FITS format and can read and
write all the currently defined types of extensions, including ASCII
tables (TABLE), Binary tables (BINTABLE) and IMAGE extensions. The
FITSIO subroutines insulate the programmer from having to deal with the
complicated formatting details in the FITS file, however, it is assumed
that users have a general knowledge about the structure and usage of
FITS files.
The CFITSIO package was initially developed by the HEASARC (High Energy
Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center) at the NASA Goddard Space
Flight Center to convert various existing and newly acquired
astronomical data sets into FITS format and to further analyze data
already in FITS format. New features continue to be added to CFITSIO
in large part due to contributions of ideas or actual code from users
of the package. The Integral Science Data Center in Switzerland, and
the XMM/ESTEC project in The Netherlands made especially significant
contributions that resulted in many of the new features that appeared
in v2.0 of CFITSIO.
The latest version of the CFITSIO source code, documentation, and
example programs are available on the World-Wide Web or via anonymous
ftp from:
http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/fitsio
ftp://legacy.gsfc.nasa.gov/software/fitsio/c
Any questions, bug reports, or suggested enhancements related to the CFITSIO
package should be sent to the primary author:
Dr. William Pence Telephone: (301) 286-4599
HEASARC, Code 662 E-mail: pence@tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
This User's Guide assumes that readers already have a general
understanding of the definition and structure of FITS format files.
Further information about FITS formats is available in the `FITS User's
Guide' and the `NOST FITS Standard', which are available from the NASA
Science Office of Standards and Technology at the address given below.
Both of these documents are available electronically from their Web
site and via anonymous ftp at nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov in the /pub/fits
directory. Any questions about FITS formats should be directed to the
NOST, at:
NASA, Science Office of Standards and Technology
Code 633.2,
Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt MD 20771, USA
WWW: http://fits.gsfc.nasa.gov/
E-mail: fits@fits.gsfc.nasa.gov
(301) 286-2899
CFITSIO users may also be interested in the FTOOLS package of programs
that can be used to manipulate and analyze FITS format files.
Information about FTOOLS can be obtained on the Web or via anonymous
ftp at:
http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/ftools
ftp://legacy.gsfc.nasa.gov/software/ftools/release