[OS X] ferret status and progress

[Andy Jacobson]

Howdy,

The current status of ferret on OS X is that we have been unable to  
compile the source code to a working version since the introduction  
of OS X 10.4.  It's unknown whether this is due to changes in the OS  
itself, or changes in the available C and Fortran compilers (both  
changed).  I personally have devoted way too much time to this and  
have been repeatedly disappointed.  The latest working version of  
ferret, the v 5.70 "alpha" available from tazman.princeton.edu was  
compiled under OS X 10.3 (if I recall correctly...outside chance it  
goes all the way back to 10.2).  This version is compiled for  
PowerPC, but works under emulation for newer Intel Macs.  It runs on  
OS X 10.3, 10.4, and 10.5 (leopard).

Here's the good news:  NOAA PMEL has hired a contractor to work on  
porting the ferret code to newer versions of OS X.  He started  
working this week.  It's unknowable how long it will take to do this  
task, or even whether it will work out.  However, I think it's really  
good news that we have a "pro" working on the problem.  A big thanks  
to Ansley Manke, Steve Hankin, Kevin O'Brien, and all the other  
ferreters at PMEL who've made ferret on OS X a priority!

Best Regards,

Andy

--
Andy Jacobson
andy.jacobson at noaa.gov

NOAA Earth System Research Lab
Global Monitoring Division
325 Broadway
Boulder CO 80305

303/497-4916