Current version 6.11.1 Release Notes

Before downloading:

New Service: Run the FTOOLS tasks directly from your web browser (WebHera).

All HEASOFT tasks may now be run remotely using the Hera data analysis service at the HEASARC without having to install the software locally. This provides a quick way to try out the software and is ideal for users who have limited or infrequent need to run the HEASOFT tasks. More intensive users of HEASOFT are still encouraged to install the software locally for best performance. Learn more about using Hera.

Please visit the HEAsoft Supported Platforms page for current information about supported operating systems and compilers.

For a list of known bugs in the latest release, visit the HEAsoft Bug List page.

The unpackaged size of the downloaded software will vary depending on the packages you select and - if you choose a binary distribution - the architecture selected. The full source code distribution is roughly 800 Mb. Complete binary distribution sizes are approximately: Linux PC (800 Mb), Linux PC 64-bit (800 Mb), Mac Intel Darwin (800 Mb), Solaris (1 Gb), and Cygwin (900 Mb). Individual binary packages range in size from only a few Mb to around 200 Mb for the Xspec distribution, as it includes a number of large data files required to run Xspec. The APEC NEI data files (which are only needed by users running APEC NEI models) are packaged separately (see below).

If large file sizes present problems for your connection, it is possible to download the packages you want separately and unpack the tar files on top of each other afterwards, though you may need to either rename each tar file with a temporary name during the process or unpack each file immediately upon downloading so that one tar file isn't overwritten by the next.

Please click SUBMIT only once, and be patient while a tar file containing your selections is assembled.

* Xspec Notes:

• HEASOFT 6.11.1 includes Xspec v12.7.0. Version 11 is no longer distributed. Please see the Xspec issues web page to apply the latest patches after building Xspec (source code distribution required).
  
  
• Xspec data For APEC NEI Models (19 Mb) - Needed only by Xspec users running APEC NEI models.
  
  
• Xspec models-only source code distribution  (197Mb) - For users who wish to link Xspec models into their own program (LINUX ONLY).
  
  

STEP 3 - Install the software:

• If you plan to build HEAsoft from the source code distribution, please visit the HEAsoft Supported Platforms page for current information about supported operating systems and compilers, before attempting to compile HEAsoft.
  
  
• Visit the known bugs page for notifications about any problems (and relevant patches) identified after HEAsoft 6.11.1 was released.
  
  
• X11:
  
  Prior to building HEAsoft, all users should make sure that they have included the X11 Development libraries (X11 SDK, or the fink package "x11-dev" on Mac OS X, x-dev/libx11-dev/libxt-dev using e.g. the "sudo apt-get" install method on Linux) as part of their X11 installation.
  
  For Mac OS X users, X11 SDK is included in the "packages" folder of Apple's XCode developer tools, which should be on your Mac OS X CD distribution. If not, it's available from the Apple XCode website
  
  Alternatively, we recommend XQuartz for Macs. Users should note that currently HEASoft is (internally) forced into 32-bit mode on Mac OS X, and therefore requires a 32-bit compatible version of X11. When using other X11 distributions (MacPorts, etc.) users should be careful to avoid 64-bit only installations.
  
  
• Un-gzip and un-tar the file created for you (either heasoft-6.11.1src.tar.gz or heasoft-6.11.1<platform>.tar.gz depending on which type of distribution you selected) in a clean directory and follow the instructions in the HEASOFT-INSTALL document to complete the installation of the software (this file is also included in the download).