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DAVE, Data Analysis and Visualization Environment

Latest Stable Release - DAVE 1.5

Based on IDL 7.0 . This is the more mature version of the software and is recommended for new users of DAVE. Please, take a look at the main features for DAVE and new features in the current release. See installation instructions for basic help with installing DAVE using binaries or from source. Note that there are new installation instructions for this version on MacOS X (see below).
(updated: 08-27-2008)

Latest Development Version

Based on IDL 7.0. This is an experimental version of DAVE 2.0 which contains a major overhaul of the core components of the application. The user interface and many base features such as visualization are quite different and the user is encouraged to consult the integrated User Manual for help on how to proceed. See the Description of DAVE Software chapter for an overview of application features and the Getting Started chapter for a beginner's tutorial. To help us iron out bugs and work towards the next stable release, your feedback will be very much appreciated. See installation instructions for basic help with installing DAVE using binaries or from source. Note that there are new installation instructions for this version on MacOS X (see below).
(updated: 08-27-2008) Example data files used in tutorial included in the User Manual (this is part of the application integrated help which is accessible from the Help menu):

See a version history of DAVE.

Brief instructions for installing DAVE

  1. Using Binaries

    Windows. Download the appropriate zip bundle. Unzip the downloaded file into a temporal directory. Navigate into the "dave" directory that is created, execute "Setup.exe" and follow the instructions to install DAVE. After installation an entry would be created in your start menu (as indicated during installation) from which you can launch DAVE. A destop shortcut is also created. Note that on some version of Windows, Administrator privileges are required to install an application.
    You can just as easily uninstall DAVE (requires Administrator privileges) using one of two methods:

    • execute the "Uninstall" program from the relevant programs group from your windows start menu.
    • execute "Add or Remove Programs" from the "Control Panel", locate the appropriate DAVE program and click on the "remove" button to uninstall it.

    MacOS X.

    Note: X11 must be installed and running for DAVE to work. X11 for MacOS X can be obtained from Apple's X11 site.

    • Download the development version from the link above
    • Double-click on the downloaded *.tgz bundle to extract its contents.
    • An application bundle called dave (stable version) or daveCVS (development version) will be created. You can now delete the downloaded .tgz file.
    • If you are unhappy with the location in which the extracted bundled is placed, use Finder to move the application bundle, dave or daveCVS, to any desired location (for example to the Applications folder). Note that if you do move the application bundle, you must use Finder!
    • Finally, double-click on the application bundle to launch DAVE.

    Linux. download the appropriate version from the link above and extract the files (eg "tar zxvf downloaded_file.tgz"). Then change directory to the "dave" directory and run "./dave". Please note that DAVE must be launched from the installation directory otherwise some program modules may not work properly.

    Note: If you are experiencing any problems with fonts and/or plotting, then you need to modify the file called 'dave' and change the line:
    topdir=`dirname $0`
    so that the topdir variable points to the installation directory in which the 'dave' file is located. For example, if the downloaded DAVE archive was extracted into a directory called /home/path/to/dave, the line in the 'dave' file should be
    topdir=/home/path/to/dave
    This modification should also enable dave to be executed from anywhere (without changing directory to the installation directory first). Thus DAVE can be launched by issuing the command '/home/path/to/dave/dave' from anywhere.
    In addition, executing the following soft link as root:
    ln -s /home/path/to/dave/dave /usr/local/bin/dave
    would give any user the ability to execute DAVE by simply typing dave on the command line irrespective of the current directory.

  2. From Source

    Note: A valid IDL license is required for this. The recommended IDL version is the one that we are currently using for our own builds (as indicated above for the stable and development versions).
    Download the appropriate stable or development source code zip bundle and extract the contents into a self-contained directory. There should be an IDL project file called 'dave.prj' in the top-level directory created. Proceed with the following steps to build and execute DAVE.

    • Launch the IDL development environment (idlde).
    • Open the DAVE project file by selecting the 'File->Open' Project menu item and choose the 'dave.prj' file from the top-level directory of the source distribution.
    • The path to several files that are included in the project and also part of the IDL distribution, are not automatically resolved when the project is loaded for the first time. These files have a red 'x' marker shown next to them in the project tree view - use the vertical scroll bar on the project window to scroll up/down. Manual intervention is required to specify their location as follows:
      • Nine of these files (idlexinscribingview__define.pro, idlexmodelmanip__define.pro, idlexobjview__define.pro, idlexobjviewwid__define.pro, idlexviewgroup__define.pro, idlexviewmanip__define.pro, idlexvolview__define.pro, idlexvolviewwid__define.pro, idlexwidget__define.pro) are located in the directory '{IDL_INSTALL_DIR}/lib/utilities/'
      • one file (orb__define.pro) is located in the directory '{IDL_INSTALL_DIR}/examples/doc/objects/'.
      Locate the unresolved files on the project window. Right-click on each unresolved file in turn and select the 'Edit' option from the pop-up menu. A file dialog appears. Navigate to the directory (as indicated above) of the missing file - once you get to the the directory the file name will appear in the file dialog. Click on 'Open' on the file dialog. The red marker against the file in the project window should disappear indicating that the file path is now resolved. Repeat for all unresolved files.
    • Next, the top-level directory where the source files are located should be included into IDL's search 'path'. Select the 'File->Preferences' menu. A dialog will be displayed. Select the 'Path' tab on the far right. Click on the 'Insert' button half way down the dialog. A directory browser is shown. Navigate to and select the top-level directory underneath which the 'dave.prj' file is located - this should be the 'programs' directory, if the download structure was maintained. Click 'OK'. The selected directory will be displayed in the list box section of the Preferences dialog. Check the box to the left of the directory to indicate that all sub-directories should also be included in the search 'path'. Click on the 'Apply' button. Click on the 'OK' button.
    • To perform a build of the entire project, select the 'Project->Build' option from the main application window. The project should compile successfully without any errors.
    • Finally, select the 'Project->Run' option to execute DAVE.

Acknowledging use of DAVE in publications may be done by making a reference to this site. For example:

"The DAVE software package was used for elements of the data reduction and analysis. [1]"
[1] http://www.ncnr.nist.gov/dave

Disclaimer

This software was developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology at the NIST Center for Neutron Research by employees of the Federal Government in the course of their official duties. Pursuant to title 17 section 105* of the United States Code this software is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. The DAVE software package is an experimental neutron scattering data reduction, visualization, and analysis system. NIST assumes no responsibility whatsoever for its use, and makes no guarantees, expressed or implied, about its quality, reliability, or any other characteristic. The use of certain trade names or commercial products does not imply any endorsement of a particular product, nor does it imply that the named product is necessarily the best product for the stated purpose. We would appreciate acknowledgment if the software is used.

*Subject matter of copyright: United States Government works

Copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government, but the United States Government is not precluded from receiving and holding copyrights transferred to it by assignment, bequest, or otherwise.

Acknowledgments

The DAVE development team consists of Richard Azuah, John Copley, Rob Dimeo, Sungil Park, Seung-Hun Lee, Alan Munter, Larry Kneller, Yiming Qiu, Inma Peral, Craig Brown, Paul Kienzle and Philip Tregenna. Additional open source utilities written by David Fanning, Ronn Kling, Mark Piper, Michael D. Galloy, and Craig Markwardt have been incorporated into some of the DAVE programs as well. This work is based upon activities supported by the National Science Foundation under Agreement No. DMR-0454672.


Last modified 11-July-2008