[AstroPy] Re: functional interface for PyFITS?: foo.fits[2]

[Nor]

>  Please, let's not pollute this
> package with all the bad examples we can find from all the other code
> in the world.  That will make it totally unusable.  Save that stuff
> for compatibility functions.

That is certainly overstating the case a bit too much. I was happy to 
see Perry was considering a more pragmatic approach to using pyfits to 
read and write FITS files. I thought we were trying to talk about a set 
of high level functions to get things done faster within our current 
work frameworks, and not start defining what proper FITS filenames 
should be. Frankly, as a user, I could not care less. I am just looking 
for a set of functions to allow me to use pyfits using single line 
commands instead of multiple lines of codes, and that could easily be 
useable within pyraf and pyraf scripts. This is actually why I often 
continue to use pcfitsio. I suspect that this is how most users would 
perceive this issue and why many of my collaborators see pyfits as too 
cumbersome to use.
Let me ask a simple question: how many files do you currently have on 
your hard disk with [1] or [2] at the end of their file name? Maybe we 
should start allowing unicode in filenames too? :-) (yes, I am joking).

Anyway, these were my $0.02, feel free to do what you want with them 
... It is clear that we will not agree, isn't it... :-)

On Mar 22, 2005, at 12:42 PM, Joe Harrington wrote:

> There are lots of examples of really bad coding and computer behavior
> in IRAF.  We switched to Python to get *away* from IRAF and its
> numerous headaches, not to bring them with us.  CFITSIO did not have
> the best-considered design, either.  Please, let's not pollute this
> package with all the bad examples we can find from all the other code
> in the world.  That will make it totally unusable.  Save that stuff
> for compatibility functions.
>
> --jh--
>
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