Lecture 0: A ``disclaimer'' etc

1. I've been formally taught very little programming (and no IDL).

2. Much of my code is awful

3. Many people here know much more about much of this subject than me

4. As many websites will show you there is a lot you can learn.

5. You're Guinea pigs!

BUT this tutorial is meant to get you started.

It's worth not losing site of where you're trying to get to.

You don't need to write particularly complex code to get a Phd.

Doing a PhD does involve organising three years work though and having tidy, flexible and efficient code is a habit worth gaining early on.

Finally, from ''IDL guru'' David Fanning,

'' Don't worry about it. Everyone I've ever known who leaves an IDL programming class (including the instructor!) laments about how they are going to have to spend the next two weeks re-writing their programs. It's an on-going and never-ending process.

Do what you can, but don't dwell on it. Just try to write better programs in the future. At the end of a career no one wishes they had spent more time revising their programs. :-) ''