Halide is a programming language designed for high-performance image processing. It allows developers to write complex image processing algorithms in a way that is both efficient and easy to understand. By using Halide, programmers can optimize their code to run faster on various hardware, including CPUs and GPUs, making it suitable for applications in fields like computer vision and graphics. The language was developed at MIT and is particularly known for its ability to separate the algorithm from the scheduling of how the computation is executed. This separation enables users to focus on the logic of their image processing tasks while letting Halide handle the optimization for different platforms and performance requirements.