Initial commit of Hyperscan

doc/dev-reference/preface.rst

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+#######
+Preface
+#######
+
+********
+Overview
+********
+
+Hyperscan is a regular expression engine designed to offer high performance, the
+ability to match multiple expressions simultaneously and flexibility in
+scanning operation.
+
+Patterns are provided to a compilation interface which generates an immutable
+pattern database. The scan interface then can be used to scan a target data
+buffer for the given patterns, returning any matching results from that data
+buffer. Hyperscan also provides a streaming mode, in which matches that span
+several blocks in a stream are detected.
+
+This document is designed to facilitate code-level integration of the Hyperscan
+library with existing or new applications.
+
+:ref:`intro` is a short overview of the Hyperscan library, with more detail on
+the Hyperscan API provided in the subsequent sections: :ref:`compilation` and
+:ref:`runtime`.
+
+:ref:`perf` provides details on various factors which may impact the
+performance of a Hyperscan integration.
+
+:ref:`api_constants` and :ref:`api_files` provides a detailed summary of the
+Hyperscan Application Programming Interface (API).
+
+********
+Audience
+********
+
+This guide is aimed at developers interested in integrating Hyperscan into an
+application. For information on building the Hyperscan library, see the Quick
+Start Guide.
+
+***********
+Conventions
+***********
+
+* Text in a ``fixed-width font`` refers to a code element, e.g. type name;
+  function or method name.
+* Text in a :regexp:`coloured fixed-width font` refers to a regular
+  expression or a part of a regular expression.