source: trunk/documents/UserDoc/DocBookUsersGuides/ForApplicationDeveloper/xml/Introduction/introduction.xml @ 1212

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<!--    Changed by: Katsuya Amako,  4-Aug-1998                -->
<!--    Changed by: Dennis Wright, 10-Dec-2001                -->
<!--    Proof read by: Joe Chuma,   9-Jun-1999                -->
<!--    Converted to DocBook: Katsuya Amako, Aug-2006         -->
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<!-- ******************* Section (Level#1) ****************** -->
<sect1 id="sect.scope">
<title>
Scope of this manual
</title>

<para>
The User's Guide for Application Developers is the first manual the
reader should consult when learning about Geant4 or developing a
Geant4-based detector simulation program. This manual is designed
to:
</para>

<itemizedlist spacing="compact">
   <listitem><para>
   introduce the first-time user to the Geant4 object-oriented
   detector simulation toolkit,
   </para></listitem>
   <listitem><para>
   provide a description of the available tools and how to use
   them, and
   </para></listitem>
   <listitem><para>
   supply the practical information required to develop and run
   simulation applications which may be used in real experiments.
   </para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>

<para>
This manual is intended to be an overview of the toolkit, rather
than an exhaustive treatment of it. Related physics discussions are
not included unless required for the description of a particular
tool. Detailed discussions of the physics included in Geant4 can be
found in the 
<ulink url="http://cern.ch/geant4/support/userdocuments.shtml">
Physics Reference Manual</ulink>. 
Details of the design and functionality of the Geant4 classes can be found in the 
<ulink url="http://cern.ch/geant4/support/userdocuments.shtml">
User's Guide for Toolkit Developers</ulink>, and a complete list of 
all Geant4 classes is given in the 
<ulink url="http://geant4.cern.ch/bin/SRM/G4GenDoc.csh?flag=1">
Software Reference Manual</ulink>.
</para>

<para>
Geant4 is a completely new detector simulation toolkit written
in the C++ language. The reader is assumed to have a basic
knowledge of object-oriented programming using C++. No knowledge of
earlier FORTRAN versions of Geant is required. Although Geant4 is a
fairly complicated software system, only a relatively small part of
it needs to be understood in order to begin developing detector
simulation applications.
</para>

</sect1>

<!-- ****************** Section (Level#1) **************************** -->
<sect1 id="sect.howto">
<title>
How to use this manual
</title>

<para>
A very basic introduction to Geant4 is presented in 
<emphasis role="bold">Chapter 2, "Getting Started with Geant4 - 
Running a Simple Example"</emphasis>. 
It is a recipe for writing and running a simple Geant4 application
program. New users of Geant4 should read this chapter first. It is
strongly recommended that this chapter be read in conjunction with
a Geant4 system installed and running on your computer. It is
helpful to run the provided examples as they are discussed in the
manual. To install the Geant4 system on your computer, please refer
to the 
<ulink
url="http://cern.ch/geant4/support/userdocuments.shtml">
Installation Guide for Setting up Geant4 in Your Computing Environment</ulink>.
</para>

<para>
<emphasis role="bold">Chapter 3, "Toolkit Fundamentals"</emphasis> 
discusses generalGeant4 issues such as class categories and the physical 
units system. It goes on to discuss runs and events, which are the basic
units of a simulation.
</para>

<para>
<emphasis role="bold">Chapter 4, "Detector Definition and Response"</emphasis> 
describes how to construct a detector from customized materials and geometric
shapes, and embed it in electromagnetic fields. It also describes
how to make the detector sensitive to particles passing through it
and how to store this information.
</para>

<para>
How particles are propagated through a material is treated in
<emphasis role="bold">Chapter 5, "Tracking and Physics"</emphasis>. 
The Geant4 "philosophy" of particle tracking is presented along with 
summaries of the physics processes provided by the toolkit. The definition 
and implementation of Geant4 particles is discussed and a list of
particle properties is provided.
</para>

<para>
<emphasis role="bold">Chapter 6, "User Actions"</emphasis> is a description 
of the "user hooks" by which the simulation code may be customized to perform
special tasks.
</para>

<para>
<emphasis role="bold">Chapter 7, "Communication and Control"</emphasis> 
provides a summary of the commands available to the user to control the 
execution of the simulation. After Chapter 2, Chapters 6 and 7 are of formeost
importance to the new application developer.
</para>

<para>
The display of detector geometry, tracks and events may be incorporated 
into a simulation application by using the tools described in 
<emphasis role="bold">Chapter 8, "Visualization"</emphasis>.
</para>

<para>
<emphasis role="bold">Chapter 9, "Examples"</emphasis> provides a set of 
novice and advanced simulation codes which may be compiled and run "as is"
from the Geant4 source code. These examples may be used as
educational tools or as base code from which more complex
applications are developed.
</para>

</sect1>