<s>
The	O
Astronomical	B-Application
Image	I-Application
Processing	I-Application
System	I-Application
(	O
AIPS	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
software	O
package	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
reduction	O
and	O
analysis	O
of	O
data	O
taken	O
with	O
radio	O
telescopes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
written	O
in	O
FORTRAN	B-Application
66	O
,	O
AIPS	O
has	O
used	O
FORTRAN	B-Application
77	O
since	O
1989	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pre-compiled	O
versions	O
are	O
today	O
available	O
for	O
users	O
of	O
Linux	B-Application
and	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
2018	O
,	O
a	O
pre-compiled	O
version	O
is	O
no	O
longer	O
available	O
for	O
Solaris	B-Application
and	O
users	O
must	O
now	O
build	O
AIPS	O
from	O
source	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initial	O
usage	O
was	O
focused	O
on	O
the	O
VLA	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
has	O
gone	O
on	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
reduce	O
data	O
from	O
practically	O
all	O
radio	O
interferometers	O
,	O
including	O
MERLIN	B-Device
and	O
the	O
GMRT	O
and	O
,	O
to	O
a	O
lesser	O
extent	O
,	O
the	O
WSRT	O
and	O
ATCA	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AIPS	O
has	O
now	O
been	O
in	O
use	O
for	O
nearly	O
40	O
years	O
and	O
has	O
even	O
outlived	O
its	O
supposed	O
replacement	O
AIPS++	B-Language
,	O
which	O
was	O
eventually	O
rebranded	O
as	O
CASA	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AIPS	O
is	O
free	O
software	O
and	O
is	O
covered	O
by	O
the	O
terms	O
of	O
the	O
GNU	B-License
General	I-License
Public	I-License
License	I-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
AIPS	O
runs	O
under	O
the	O
X	B-Operating_System
Window	I-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
with	O
commands	O
entered	O
interactively	O
using	O
a	O
command-line	O
interpreter	O
called	O
POPS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Commands	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
placed	O
in	O
a	O
text	O
file	O
which	O
makes	O
repeating	O
complicated	O
procedures	O
much	O
more	O
convenient	O
and	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
create	O
data-reduction	O
pipelines	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
more	O
modern	O
alternative	O
is	O
to	O
install	O
ParselTongue	O
,	O
a	O
Python-based	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
TV	O
is	O
used	O
to	O
visualise	O
data	O
or	O
images	O
and	O
can	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
interactively	O
edit	O
data	O
or	O
control	O
the	O
progress	O
of	O
a	O
deconvolution	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
programmer	O
's	O
guide	O
is	O
called	O
Going	O
AIPS	O
,	O
the	O
cover	O
of	O
which	O
features	O
a	O
gorilla	O
clutching	O
a	O
Tektronix	B-General_Concept
4012	I-General_Concept
graphics	O
terminal	O
whilst	O
standing	O
upon	O
two	O
IBM	B-Device
3420	I-Device
Magnetic	O
Tape	O
Units	O
.	O
</s>
