Semidifferential invariants, combining coordinates in different points together with their derivatives, are used for the description of planar contours. Their use can be seen as a tradeoff between two extreme strategies currently used in shape recognition: (invariant) feature extraction methods, involving high-order derivatives, and invariant coordinate descriptions, leading to the correspondence problem of reference points. The method for the derivation of such invariants, based on Lie group theory and applicable to a wide spectrum of transformation groups, is described. As an example, invariant curve parameterizations are developed for affine and projective transformations. The usefulness of the approach is illustrated with two examples: (1) recognition of a test set of 12 planar objects viewed under conditions allowing affine approximations, and (2) the detection of symmetry in perspective projections of curves.>