Algorithms in a Nutshell

Overview | 253

Computational

Geometry

These concepts naturally extend into multiple dimensions, as shown in

Figure 9-2:

IMultiPoint

Represents ann-dimensional Cartesian point with a fixed number of dimen-

sions, with each coordinate value using double floating-point accuracy; can

determine distance to anotherIMultiPointwith same dimensionality. Can

return array of coordinate values to optimize performance by some

algorithms.

IHypercube

Represents ann-dimensional solid shape with [left,right] bounding values for

a fixed number of dimensions; can determine whether it intersects an

IMultiPoint or contains anIHypercube with the same dimensionality.

IMultiLineSegment

Represents a finite segment inn-dimensional Cartesian space.

The allowed point values are traditionally real numbers, which forces an implemen-

tation to use floating-point primitive types to store data. In the 1970s, computations

over floating-point values were relatively costly compared to integer arithmetic.

Figure 9-1. Core interfaces for computational geometry

Figure 9-2. Interfaces to represent multiple dimensional data

Algorithms in a Nutshell
Algorithms in a Nutshell By Gary Pollice, George T. Heineman, Stanley Selkow ISBN:
9780596516246 Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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