[Spice_announce] Version N64 Toolkit Announcement

[Acton, Charles H (343N)]

Dear Colleagues--

The NAIF Team is pleased to announce release of the Version N64 SPICE
Toolkit. This release adds 15 new supported computing environments, bringing
the total to 49. N64 also includes an augmentation to the Geometry Finder
subsystem, some changes and additional new capabilities for Toolkits in all
four supported languages, some new object ID codes and names, and some bug
fixes. Please read the "whats.new" text file available in each Toolkit's
documentation section and also available from these web pages, to see the
details.

The toolkits are available for download from the NAIF server using the NAIF
web pages starting here: http://naif.jpl.nasa.gov/naif/toolkit.html.
Individual application and utility programs, including a number that are NOT
included in the Toolkit packages, may be downloaded from here:
http://naif.jpl.nasa.gov/naif/utilities.html.

Please be VERY CAREFUL to select only a toolkit package that was made for
the environment you are using: language, platform, 32 or 64 bit
architecture, operating system and, where applicable, compiler. Do not try
installing/using a non-matching toolkit; it will either not work at all, or
it might appear to work but give incorrect results! Contact NAIF if you have
any questions along these lines.

The full set of available toolkits is listed on the URL above: we do not
have any additional environments available.

NAIF does not plan to support PC-Windows-Compaq Visual (Digital) Fortran and
PC-Windows-Lahey Fortran after this release. NAIF also does not plan to
further support any Macintosh Power PC environments.

Please carefully read and follow the installation instructions included with
each toolkit. You are also strongly encouraged to examine the two tutorials
that address installation and configuration issues: "11_installing_toolkit"
and "12_preparing_for_programming." These, along with a large selection of
other SPICE tutorials, are available here:
http://naif.jpl.nasa.gov/naif/tutorials.html.

As always, all 49 instances of these toolkits have been highly tested using
NAIF's automated test scripts. Because of this very substantial testing, and
because the majority of the code has been in use for quite some time, NAIF
expects there to be very few bugs in this code. The vast majority of user
problems with SPICE-based code can be traced to use of an inappropriate
toolkit, an error in user-written code, or a misunderstanding of how a SPICE
module works or what it is supposed to accomplish. Please read the available
documentation to help resolve problems; source code module headers,
technical reference documents ("required reading"), and SPICE tutorials.

Important rules for use of SPICE Toolkits are provided here:
http://naif.jpl.nasa.gov/naif/rules.html.

If you need help from NAIF, please read the support policy provided here:
http://naif.jpl.nasa.gov/naif/support.html

and the summary of questions provided here:
http://naif.jpl.nasa.gov/naif/gettinghelp.html.

Help on SPICE is also available from ESA:
http://www.rssd.esa.int/index.php?project=SPICE&page=index

NAIF hopes you will find this new toolkit release, and SPICE in general,
useful in your various space science endeavors. If you have suggestions for
improving SPICE or NAIF services, we're happy to hear from you.

Please report any problems or suspected errors to the NAIF Manager or anyone
on the NAIF Team:  http://naif.jpl.nasa.gov/naif/feedback.html.