Line Clipping in 2D: Overview, Techniques and Algorithms

Clipping, as a fundamental process in computer graphics, displays only the part of a scene which is needed to be displayed and rejects all others. In two dimensions, the clipping process can be applied to a variety of geometric primitives such as points, lines, polygons or curves. A line-clipping algorithm processes each line in a scene through a series of tests and intersection calculations to determine whether the entire line or any part of it is to be saved. It also calculates the intersection position of a line with the window edges so its major goal is to minimize these calculations. This article surveys important techniques and algorithms for line-clipping in 2D but it also includes some of the latest research made by the authors. The survey criteria include evaluation of all line-clipping algorithms against a rectangular window, line clipping versus polygon clipping, and our line clipping against a convex polygon, as well as all line-clipping algorithms against a convex polygon algorithm.