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From Odwiki

A Network Editor pane is at the core of Houdini's functionality. All operations in Houdini use nodes of various types to achieve a unified, logical, procedural interface. These nodes are called Operators, and are shortened to the operator type. So, when you hear about "POPs" you are hearing about Particle Operators.

In many cases there is additional user interface allowing the artist to work in the viewport (modelling, character animation etc) but that interface is built on top of the node-based networks.

This node-based approach makes learning Houdini very easy, once you grasp the basic concept of wiring nodes together, since everything in Houdini (particles, channel editing, compositing, modelling, shader creation etc) is ultimately done with appropriate Operators.

The following image is an example of a CHOP (CHannel Operator) network.

The following is an example of a SOP (Surface OPerator aka modelling operations) network.

All nodes share common features, such as using the RMB on a node to bring up a menu. Operators are conceptually similar, in that there are Generators that create data (geometry, channel data, particles etc) and Filters that modify data (transform geometry, time-scale channel data, apply gravity to particles etc). All nodes are created either from icons at the top of the network pane or (most commonly) from a Tab or Backspace menu in the Network Editor pane.

To learn what operators are available simply go to a Network Editor pane of the type you are interested in, and type Tab or Backspace. All the operators for that type will be listed in either Generators or Filters. There will be other toolbars as well, but these are subsets of Generators and Filters. Select a node, place it in the workspace and then RMB on the node and select Help. Each operator has Help associated with it so you can explore on your own.

As with all areas of Houdini, you can use the pull-down menus at the top of the network to gain access to various controls for the network, or use Ctrl+RMB to access a pop-up context sensitive menu.