XISFITS

XISFITS is a command line tool to convert PixInsight images (XISF) to FITS.

Installation

This is programmed in Rust language. Rust development tools must be installed following its own instructions. After that, download XISFITS sources and, on the main directory, run:

$ cargo build xisfits

Usage

Currently, as no binaries are distributed, XISFITS should be run using Rust and its Cargo tool:

$ cargo run --release <original image.xisf> <new image.fits>

If using the compiled binary:

$ xisfits <image.xisf> <image.fits>

Tests

To run the test suite, execute:

$ cargo test

Features

• Reads XISF images generated by PixInsight and converts them to FITS.
• Reads XISF unsigned integer 8 bits, unsigned 16 bits, unsigned 32 bits, float 32 bits and float 64 bits.
• Writes FITS unsigned signed 8 bits, signed 16 bits, float 32 bits and float 64 bits.
• No third-party dependencies for managing XISF and FITS images.
• Supports compression codecs zlib, zlib+sh and lz4.

Known issues and limitations

• Although the XISF format supports signed integers, currently only UInt8, UInt16 and UInt32 types can be converted to FITS.
• UInt8 is converted to FITS BITPIX 8, which is also unsigned.
• UInt16 and UInt32 are converted to signed 16 and 32 bits. In order to do so, if there are unsigned values greater than what signed values can store, those values are clipped.
• Compression codecs lz4+sh, lz4hc and lz4hc+sh are not currently supported.

Contributing

Pull requests are welcome. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

License

MIT