This is a reference manual intended to explain the language sufficiently to allow a programmer to develop useful applications. As such, it comprises two fundamental parts. The first is a detailed reference describing the lan- guage's features, syntax, and structure. The other is a fairly complete description of the interfaces to the IRAF environment.
Separate chapters are devoted to error handling and making IRAF tasks.
Four appendixes cover the system defined include files, detailed examples and other helpful hints, and utilities for debugging applications code. Simple examples of specific concepts are scattered throughout this text. These are usually fragments of code intended to illustrate the concept under discussion. However, Appendix B contains a few complete examples. This is not a programming textbook.