GIT-GVU-92-16

Algorithms for Rendering Cubic Curves

Benjamin Watson
Larry F. Hodges

We present two integer-only algorithms to be used in tandem for rendering cubic functions and parametric cubic curves with ratyional coefficients. We then show how to take advantage of curve shape to improve algorithm performance. Analysis of execution speed of existing algorithms shows that our algorithms will match or outperform other current algorithms. Furthermore, while other existing algorithms can only handle curves shaped by rational coefficients by introducing some approximation error, our algorithms always choose the best approximation. When plotting parametric curves, our algorithms may require more bits of representation for some integer variables than other existing algorithms.

Algorithms, rendering, parametric curves, raster graphics

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