label_date.pro is missing from /usr/share/gnudatalanguage/lib

[jmyoshii]

I installed GDL 0.9.9 on Ubuntu 20.04. Running a routine produced the error message "Function not found: LABEL_DATE".

label_date.pro is not in /usr/share/gnudatalanguage/lib even though I found it in the 'src' directory in the github.

[jmyoshii]

Oops, it is in 'src/pro' in the github. I clicked on the link to the code, copied and pasted to the file 'label_date.pro' in my user directory, then used sudo to copy it to /usr/shar/gnudatalanguage/lib.

When I try

GDL>  date_label = LABEL_DATE(DATE_FORMAT =  '%Y') 

I get error messages

% Warning: Assignment to loop variable detected.
% Compiled module: LABEL_DATE.
% LONG: Variable is undefined: X
% Error occurred at: LABEL_DATE          73 /usr/share/gnudatalanguage/lib/label_date.pro

[alaingdl]

1. I strongly advice you to move to current 1.0.3, because it is not easy to maintain very old versions to check such problems
2. I did run the first example in IDL doc (in GDL 1.0.1 & 1.03) and it is working nicely for me, with the limitation that TIMEGEN should be in the path too (timegen.pro available on scisoft4 @ ESO)

[GillesDuvert]

"Our" label_date.pro is coming from the COBE experiment and claimed as free. (However it contains explicit contributions of "DMS, RSI. April, 1993. Written." ??) . It is probably old WRT the current status of IDL's version.
Indeed there seem to be a problem using this procedure, however it has worked in the past years as it is used in the TICKFORMAT='LABEL_DATE' option for plots.
Probably an easy bug.

[GillesDuvert]

And 'label_date' is installed along the other procedures.

[GillesDuvert]

I mean, it is installed when GDL is compiled by the user. It may not be installed using a distributed (Ubuntu...) version as they may keep procedures in a separate package of unknown name.

[jmyoshii]

I think I need to build the source code, then. Version 0.9.9 is the one offered in Synaptic Package Manager. I will give that a try. Thank you!

[jmyoshii]

I installed the MacPorts version on a Mac -- it is version 1.0.0-rc3. No label_date.pro in /opt/local/share/gnudatalanguage/lib there too.

I think my lesson is to just download GDL directly, rather than going through package managers. Thank you again.

[jmyoshii]

I followed the instructions at "GDL on Linux" for the build_gdl.sh script. Even with timegen.pro as alaingdl suggested,

---

GDL> date_label = label_date(date_format = '%Y')
% Warning: Assignment to loop variable detected.
% Compiled module: LABEL_DATE.
% LONG: Variable is undefined: X
% Execution halted at: LABEL_DATE 73 /home/jmyoshii/label_date.pro
% $MAIN$

---

I attempted to build GDL on the iMac (running Sonoma) using way 1 at "But if you prefer doing it the hard way:"... the prep stage had errors and the configure stage failed. But the v1.0.3 .dmg file worked (an earlier version that I downloaded failed to run), and the GDL window pops up. I get the same label_date.pro error as on Linux.

This confirms GillesDuvert's statement that there is a problem with label_date.pro.

Thank you for all the hard work you do to improve GDL!

[alaingdl]

(I cannot reproduce "exactly" your bug but may just a version issue)

OK, clearly "our" LABEL_DATE don't work now as the IDL one's 😞
Especially DATE_FORMAT= keyword is not managed in the code !

A.

[GillesDuvert]

A 'free' but too old version, indeed.
still, things like plot,dist(10),xtickf='label_date' work.

[GillesDuvert]

PR #1652 should solve your problem (and make label_date closer to what IDL provides)