What is PV~WAVE and how is it related to IDL?
Around the time that the Unix version of IDL first became available (1988), Precision Visuals Inc. (PVI) entered into an agreement with RSI under which they enhanced and resold IDL under the name PV~WAVE. In September of 1990, they exercised an option in that agreement that resulted in the following: – They received a copy of the IDL source code as it existed in September 1990 in return for a one-time payment to RSI. – The connection between RSI and PVI was severed. IDL and PV~WAVE are now on separate development tracks. Each company enhances, supports, and maintains its own product. PVI has since merged with IMSL and is now Visual Numerics, Inc. (VNI).
