Available languages

HEALPix-based tools to analyze and visualize data on the sphere are available in many different computer languages. This document lists the languages supported as part of the standard HEALPix package as well as those implementations or wrappers developped by outside teams that we are aware of.

• C:

  • Supported by the standard HEALPix-C package
  • healpix_bare provides a subset of Healpix routines in C with a BSD license

• C++:

  • Supported by the standard HEALPix-C++ package

• Fortran:

  • Supported by the standard HEALPix-Fortran90 package

• IDL & GDL & FL:

  • Supported by the standard HEALPix-IDL package (see also Using GDL instead of IDL)

• Java:

  • Supported by the standard HEALPix-Java package

• JavaScript & TypeScript

  • A partial implementation of HEALPix in JavaScript / TypeScript
  • A subset of HEALPix/coordinate conversion routines in JavaScript

• Julia:

  • LibHealpix.jl (github.com): wrapper around HEALPix-C++
  • Healpix.jl (github.com): self-contained re-implementation of some functionalities based on HEALPix original source code

• Matlab & Octave:

  • MEALPix: self-contained new implementation based on HEALPix-F90 original source code,
    initiated by Penn State Gravitational-Wave Astronomy Group.
  • A subset of Healpix functionalities in Matlab developed by Y. Naruse

• Python:

  • Supported by the standard HEALPix-Python package,
    based on the healpy package developed by C. Rosset, L. Singer, A. Zonca et al.

• R:

  • rcosmo: CMB data-analysis in R by D. V. Fryer

• Yorick:

  • YHeal: mostly a wrapper of original Healpix-C++ (2.20a) library (not included in package),
    by G. Lavaux.

For quick reference cheat sheets when switching back and forth between IDL/GDL, Python, Matlab/Octave and/or R, have a look at Vidar Bronken Gundersen's convenient (but slightly dated) http://mathesaurus.sf.net/.

Last update: 2024-10-10