.. _introduction:

=====================================================
Introduction to HED
=====================================================

.. contents:: **Contents**
    :local:
    :depth: 1

Why HED?
========

.. topic:: Why use HED?

   HED (Hierarchical Event Descriptors) is an infrastructure and
   a controlled vocabulary that allows researchers to annotate
   their experimental data, especially events,
   so that tools can automatically use this information in analysis.

For more information on using Hierarchical Event Descriptors (HED)
visit `HED examples <https://hed-examples.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html>`_:


Installing hedtools
===================
Hedtools will be available soon on pypi, but in the meantime,
you can install directly from the
`GitHub repository <https://github.com/hed-standard/hed-python>`_
using the following command:

```code
>>> pip install git+https://github.com/hed-standard/hed-python.git
```

Finding help
============

:Documentation:

    See `HED resources <https://www.hed-resources.org>`_ for user documentation and tutorials.

    The `HED online tools <https://hedtools.org>`_ provide an easy-to-use interface that requires no programming. 


:Issues and problems:
    * If you notice a bug in the python hedtools code or encounter other problems using the tools, please `open an issue`_ in the
      hed-python repository on github.

.. _open an issue: https://github.com/hed-standard/hed-python/issues