Software Survey Results
Presented here are the results from the CXC Software User Survey
conducted in March 2003. Each of 108 anonymous respondents was
assigned a number in order to correlate answers within the survey.
Note that a set a numbers was skipped in this process, resulting in
comments being numbered up to "126"; this error in no way affects the
survey results.
Contents:
User Information
Total number of respondents: 108
How they described themselves:
- Undergraduate Student: 2
- Graduate Student: 21
- Post-doctoral Researcher: 23
- Astronomer who occasionally works in X-Rays: 3
- X-Ray Astronomer: 39
- Other: 20 (List)
Level of experience with scientific analysis software:
- New User: 8
- Occasional User: 11
- Regular User: 46
- Expert User: 36
CIAO Tools and Applications
What kinds of CIAO analysis tasks do you perform most often?
| |
Never |
Rarely |
Sometimes |
Often |
Always |
| ACIS Imaging Spatial |
10 |
9 |
21 |
22 |
34 |
| HRC Imaging Spatial |
51 |
19 |
12 |
3 |
0 |
| ACIS Imaging Spectral |
8 |
6 |
16 |
36 |
32 |
| ACIS HETG Grating Spectral |
34 |
11 |
19 |
20 |
11 |
| ACIS LETG Grating Spectral |
45 |
15 |
14 |
10 |
2 |
| HRC LETG Grating Spectral |
55 |
8 |
12 |
11 |
2 |
| ACIS Timing |
43 |
19 |
16 |
8 |
3 |
| HRC Timing |
63 |
10 |
7 |
4 |
1 |
Can you easily perform these tasks using CIAO?
- Yes: 52
- Sometimes: 46
- No: 5
Responses: Tasks users cannot easily do now.
How often do you use the following CIAO command-line tools, scripts, or
applications?
| |
Never |
Rarely |
Sometimes |
Often |
Always |
| ahelp |
2 |
6 |
28 |
47 |
16 |
| chips |
29 |
18 |
22 |
19 |
6 |
| csmooth |
33 |
16 |
20 |
18 |
6 |
| detecttools |
47 |
13 |
11 |
14 |
9 |
| dmcopy |
3 |
2 |
12 |
41 |
41 |
| dmfilth |
50 |
17 |
18 |
3 |
1 |
| dmgroup |
29 |
16 |
22 |
14 |
11 |
| dmimg2jpg |
46 |
18 |
14 |
10 |
3 |
| dmlist |
8 |
9 |
18 |
28 |
35 |
| firstlook |
66 |
14 |
6 |
7 |
0 |
| lightcurve |
24 |
14 |
28 |
21 |
9 |
| mkgrmf |
35 |
14 |
22 |
17 |
8 |
| mkpsf |
43 |
22 |
16 |
10 |
0 |
| prism |
42 |
14 |
15 |
18 |
5 |
| psextract |
29 |
15 |
19 |
17 |
15 |
| sherpa |
33 |
14 |
21 |
16 |
13 |
| s-lang as embedded in CIAO |
37 |
21 |
21 |
9 |
3 |
Responses: Other command-line tools used
often.
These responses have also been collected into the
following table:
| Tool |
Number of Votes |
| dmextract |
16 |
| mkrmf |
11 |
| acis_process_events |
11 |
| mkarf |
9 |
| ftools |
6 |
| dmhedit |
5 |
| mkwarf |
5 |
| detect tools |
4 |
| mkexpmap |
4 |
| Isis |
4 |
| mkgarf |
4 |
| dmstat |
4 |
|
Three votes each: destreak,
dmimgcalc, dmregrid, fullgarf, merge_all, mkinstmap, tgextract,
tg_resolve_events, s-lang embedded in Isis |
|
Two votes each: acisreadcorr,
apply_acisabs, dmcoords, dmmerge |
|
One vote each: acis_set_ardlib,
acisspec, asphist, dmkeypar, hrc_process_events, mkeypar, plist,
pset, reproject_events, xspec |
How often do you use the following packages to analyze Chandra data?
| |
Never |
Rarely |
Sometimes |
Often |
Always |
|
External (List) |
24 |
1 |
9 |
15 |
19 |
| FTOOLS (List) |
9 |
13 |
18 |
23 |
14 |
| IDL |
29 |
4 |
11 |
15 |
32 |
| IRAF |
52 |
19 |
11 |
2 |
0 |
| ISIS |
43 |
12 |
5 |
11 |
13 |
| PINTofALE |
69 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
| PROS |
69 |
10 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
| SPEX |
73 |
10 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| XMMSAS |
63 |
12 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
| XRONOS |
70 |
8 |
2 |
5 |
0 |
| XSPEC |
13 |
11 |
21 |
20 |
30 |
| Other (List) |
14 |
1 |
4 |
10 |
1 |
Responses:
How do you compare using CIAO to other astronomical analysis
systems?
| |
No Opinion |
Much More Difficult |
Somewhat More Difficult |
About Equal |
Somewhat Easier |
Much Easier |
| CIAO vs. other systems |
8 |
4 |
14 |
39 |
24 |
10 |
Responses: Features
that make other data analysis packages easier to use than
CIAO.
CIAO Documentation
Do you read any of the following CIAO documents?
| |
Never |
Rarely |
Sometimes |
Often |
Always |
| Ahelp Pages |
1 |
4 |
31 |
45 |
19 |
| Analysis Guides |
15 |
20 |
38 |
23 |
4 |
| Dictionary |
36 |
34 |
18 |
5 |
2 |
| FAQ |
31 |
28 |
27 |
7 |
3 |
| Manuals |
7 |
21 |
37 |
30 |
5 |
| Threads |
1 |
5 |
15 |
40 |
39 |
| Why? Topics |
33 |
24 |
21 |
8 |
3 |
How do you rate the following with regard to
documentation?
| |
No Opinion |
Poor |
Marginal |
Satisfactory |
Good |
Excellent |
| Completeness |
10 |
4 |
18 |
29 |
34 |
5 |
| Ease of use |
6 |
4 |
10 |
34 |
37 |
9 |
| Technical content |
8 |
5 |
17 |
38 |
31 |
1 |
Responses:
Image Display Applications
How often do you use the following image display
applications? (Free software)
| |
Never |
Rarely |
Sometimes |
Often |
Always |
| aipsview |
81 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
| aladin |
72 |
6 |
7 |
2 |
0 |
| ds9 |
0 |
1 |
10 |
22 |
66 |
| fitsview / xfitsview |
73 |
4 |
8 |
2 |
0 |
| gaia |
77 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
| gimp |
46 |
21 |
11 |
9 |
2 |
| karma |
79 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| POW (fv) |
57 |
5 |
15 |
9 |
3 |
| saoimage |
59 |
14 |
10 |
5 |
2 |
| saotng |
68 |
14 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
| skycat / jskycat |
75 |
7 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
| ximtool |
67 |
13 |
6 |
2 |
1 |
| xv |
20 |
14 |
29 |
21 |
7 |
| Other (List) |
25 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
4 |
How often do you use the following image display
applications? (Commercial software)
| |
Never |
Rarely |
Sometimes |
Often |
Always |
| idl |
25 |
6 |
20 |
9 |
30 |
| mathematica |
61 |
17 |
5 |
5 |
1 |
| matlab |
79 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| photoshop |
61 |
10 |
12 |
4 |
0 |
| Other (List) |
28 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
Responses:
Current and Future Portable Systems
Window Managers / Desktops
Which window manager/desktop do you use now?
Which will you use in the next year?
| |
Currently |
In the next year |
| CDE (dtwm) |
35 |
28 |
| fvwm |
21 |
18 |
| Gnome/sawfish |
23 |
27 |
| kde/kwm |
25 |
30 |
| OpenLook (olwm/olvwm) |
7 |
7 |
| Other (List) |
13 |
17 |
Workstations
PC Systems
-
PC-Linux (x86)
Which version of the PC-Linux (x86) OS do you use now?
Which will you use in the next year?
| |
Currently |
In the next year |
| Redhat 6.2 |
19 |
13 |
| Redhat 8.0 |
24 |
42 |
| SuSE 7.x |
2 |
3 |
| SuSE 8.x |
2 |
3 |
| Debian 2.x |
9 |
5 |
| Debian 3.0 |
8 |
13 |
| Mandrake 8.x |
2 |
1 |
| Mandrake 9.0 |
2 |
3 |
| Slackware 8.0 |
1 |
1 |
| Other (List) |
17 |
11 |
-
Apple PowerPC (G3-G4)
Interested in a PowerPC port?
Which version of the OS do you use now?
Which will you use in the next year?
| |
Currently |
In the next year |
| Mac OS 10.2 |
23 |
31 |
| Linux PPC |
0 |
0 |
-
Windows XX
Interested in a Windows port?
Which version of the OS do you use now?
Which will you use in the next year?
| |
Currently |
In the next year |
| Windows 2000 |
7 |
4 |
| Windows XP Pro |
8 |
10 |
| Other (List) |
4 |
4 |
Web Browsers
Which browser do you use now?
Which will you use in the next year?
| |
Currently |
In the next year |
| Netscape Communicator 4.x |
49 |
29 |
| Netscape 6.x |
11 |
15 |
| Netscape 7.x |
23 |
30 |
| Mozilla 1.x |
37 |
42 |
| Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.x |
6 |
3 |
| Opera 6 |
2 |
5 |
| Konqueror 2.2 |
6 |
6 |
| Other (List) |
11 |
12 |
Memory
How much memory do you have available?
How much will you have in the next year?
| |
Currently |
In the next year |
| <= 128 Mb |
7 |
2 |
| 256 Mb |
15 |
11 |
| 512 Mb |
27 |
21 |
| 1 Gb |
35 |
41 |
| 2 Gb |
12 |
17 |
| => 4 Gb |
7 |
9 |
Software Installation
What kind of installation do you generally use?
- Individual: 28
- System Manager: 36
- Both: 35
What pieces of software are you generally installing?
- ATOMDB: 44
- CALDB: 70
- CIAO: 78
- NRA: 32
Proposal Tools and Applications
How often do you use the followin Proposal Tools?
For each, indicate if you use the web or the portable
version.
| |
Web |
Portable |
Never |
Rarely |
Sometimes |
Often |
Always |
| Colden |
42 |
6 |
24 |
9 |
17 |
12 |
8 |
| Dates |
22 |
4 |
38 |
10 |
10 |
4 |
1 |
| EAviewer |
13 |
2 |
46 |
6 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
| Obsvis |
32 |
15 |
22 |
11 |
22 |
9 |
6 |
| Pimms |
52 |
17 |
12 |
5 |
22 |
22 |
18 |
| Precess |
25 |
5 |
32 |
10 |
13 |
4 |
3 |
|
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