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Chapter 1<br />
Introducing <strong>HDevelop</strong><br />
In fact, <strong>HDevelop</strong> is more than a graphical user interface to HALCON: It is a highly interactive<br />
programming environment for the development of image analysis applications.<br />
There are three basic ways to develop image analysis applications using <strong>HDevelop</strong>:<br />
¯ Rapid prototyping in the interactive environment <strong>HDevelop</strong>.<br />
You can use <strong>HDevelop</strong> to find the optimal operators or parameters to solve your image<br />
analysis task, and then build the application using the programming languages C, C++, or<br />
COM (Visual Basic).<br />
¯ Development of an application that runs within <strong>HDevelop</strong>.<br />
Using <strong>HDevelop</strong>, you can also develop a complete image analysis application and run it<br />
within the <strong>HDevelop</strong> environment.<br />
¯ Export of an application as C, C++, or COM source code.<br />
Finally, you can export an application developed in <strong>HDevelop</strong> as C, C++, or COM source<br />
code. This program can then be compiled and linked with the HALCON library so that it<br />
runs as a stand-alone (console) application. Of course, you can also extend the generated<br />
code or integrate it into existing software.<br />
Let’s start with some facts describing the main characteristics of <strong>HDevelop</strong>, followed by an<br />
example session in section 1.2.<br />
1.1 Facts about <strong>HDevelop</strong><br />
While developing programs, <strong>HDevelop</strong> actively supports the user in different ways:<br />
¾ With the graphical user interface of <strong>HDevelop</strong> operators and iconic objects can be directly<br />
selected, analyzed, and changed within one environment.<br />
¾ <strong>HDevelop</strong> suggests operators for specific tasks. In addition, a thematically structured<br />
operator list helps you to find an appropriate operator quickly.<br />
¾ An integrated online help contains information about each HALCON operator, such as<br />
a detailed description of the functionality, typical successor and predecessor operators,<br />
complexity of the operator, error handling, and examples of application. The online<br />
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