ABSTRACT

Computer graphics has often been cited as a prime application area for the techniques of computational geometry. The histories of the two fields have a great deal of overlap, with similar methods (e.g.,sweep-line and area subdivision algorithms) arising independently in each. Both fields have often focused on similar problems, although with different computational models. For example, hidden surface removal (visible surface identification) is a fundamental problem in both fields. At the same time, as the fields have matured, they have brought different requirements to similar problems. The body of this chapter contains an updated version of our chapter in an earlier edition of this Handbook [[DT04]] in which we aimed to highlight both similarities and differences between the fields.