Abstract: A method for creating, describing, editing and distributing user programs, such a digital signal processing programs of the type used in machine vision applications, across multiple processing targets. Such programs are optimized on and for the target system to execute the fastest on each target system based on the target system's individual processor, operating system and memory type. The user program is made up of a series of operations called “steps” that are organized in a hierarchical structure or list and which encapsulate the data necessary for the target processor to optimally execute and program and allows optional editing in a target system native and step specific GUI environment. The user programs generated by the present method are not in a computer language nor are they created by directed programming techniques. Further, they are not interpreted. Rather, the steps include one or more associated step objects that in turn call step agents at the time of step program execution.