Is it OK to modify the BPP script?

[ste7e]

Hi

I've made some changes to the BatchPreprocessing script so that rather than having image integration parameters on the Lights page, it has a set of three template drop-downs - much like the selection for Cosmetic Correction in BPP.  These are for: Local Normilization, ImageIntegration and DrizzleIntegration.

This allows me to automate the process through to drizzle-integration using the local normalization process.

Now, to my questions:  Is it bad behaviour for me to do this?  Or, maybe it's encouraged for people to take existing scripts and modify them for their own purposes?  Is this a mod that others may want to make use of?  If so, is there a process to allow me to share my mods?

As an astrophotographer I love PI and, as a developer, I also love they way its designed as a platform allowing extensions to be built-on.

Steve

[pfile]

there is a github repository for PI, i think if you contact juan he can give you the details...

http://pixinsight.com/developer/pjsr/

rob

[Andres.Pozo]

You can modify it as you like, but you must comply with the license of the script that it is at the beginning of the file.

Andrés.

[Juan Conejero]

Hi Steve,

As an astrophotographer I love PI and, as a developer, I also love they way its designed as a platform allowing extensions to be built-on.

That's fantastic! Everybody is always welcome to contribute with new and modified code to PixInsight. That's why PixInsight is actually a software development platform instead of a regular application. As Rob and Andrés have said, the correct route for all contributions is our open-source GitHub repositories:

https://github.com/PixInsight

Of course you can modify any script, as long as you comply with its software license, and use the modified version for your own purposes. As for modifying the BPP script for general use, just a couple of notes:

I've made some changes to the BatchPreprocessing script so that rather than having image integration parameters on the Lights page, it has a set of three template drop-downs - much like the selection for Cosmetic Correction in BPP.  These are for: Local Normilization, ImageIntegration and DrizzleIntegration.

Without having seen your modifications, you are including here tasks that cannot be automated this way. The LocalNormalization process is inherently ill-posed and requires a correct understanding and analysis of the calibrated data set, which is only possible by careful inspection and evaluation. LN must never be used blindly as ImageCalibration or StarAlignment for example. On the other hand, ImageIntegration cannot provide an optimal result without manual interaction and analysis, as the BPP tells you (actually, I am thinking seriously about removing the lights II step from BPP). The same applies to DrizzleIntegration, since it depends on a previous, optimized application of ImageIntegration.

[ste7e]

Hi Juan, Rob and Andrés

Thanks for the reply.  I'll take a look at the GitHub repo.

As for the changes to BPP: Of course, you're right about the three process steps that I've added not being intended to work blindly. 

I personally like to do a full automated run through to the drizzled integration just so that I can see a result before I go back and start tweaking.  I tend to load everything into BPP and run it overnight.  So I might as well do a blind integration at the same time so I can see what I've got the next morning.  It's very much a first step for me.

But, I do totally get your reservations, so I'll keep this strictly to myself and use it with care.

I'll definitely be back with other developments as and when the inspiration strikes, though.  As, I said I love working with your product on both sides of the dev/user divide.

Steve

[moscow]

Community development - its great!
Try to make some changes into BPP.

Juan, please take a look into: https://github.com/PixInsight/PJSR/pull/50

[M Covington]

What is the right way to submit something to the GIT repository?  When I go there and look around, I do not see third-party submissions.  In my case I have a modified BatchPreprocessing script with a few enhancements.