Can I use Starlink software with gif, tiff or fits etc images?
Yes. This can be done in two ways. Firstly, one can use the Starlink CONVERT package to convert from many other formats into Starlink’s Extensible n-dimensional Data Format (NDF), or indeed many other data formats. CONVERT combined with other data format conversion programs (e.g. xv) can be used to convert even more formats into NDFs (e.g. jpeg, Sun raster format, etc). Secondly, it is possible for most Starlink applications to convert from a foreign format “on-the-fly” so that it appears to the user that the application can actually read directly that format. In practise, the application spots that the file requested is not an NDF and fires up CONVERT to make the conversion for you automatically.
