Why are there so few widget and object-oriented procedures in the IDL Astronomy Library?
The emphasis of the IDL Astronomy Library is on low-level algorithms for astronomy (including FITS I/O). The are many excellent Web sites for other aspects of IDL programming. (Probably the three most widely used libraries for astronomers are those of David Fanning, Craig Markwardt, and Ray Sterner . ) Historically, widget procedures are also more difficult to maintain over different IDL platforms and versions.
