CHAPTER 6:

VIEWING IN 2D
 CONTENTS

 Windowing Concepts
 Clipping
 Introduction
 Brute Force
 Cohen-Sutherland Clipping Algorithm

 Area Clipping
 Sutherland-Hodgman Area Clipping Algorithm
 WINDOWING I

 A scene is made up of a collection of objects specified in

world coordinates

World Coordinates
 WINDOWING II

 When we display a scene only those objects within a

particular window are displayed

Window
wymax

wymin

wxmin wxmax
World Coordinates
 WINDOWING III

 Because drawing things to a display takes time, we clip

everything outside the window

Window
wymax

wymin

wxmin wxmax
World Coordinates
 WINDOW VS. VIEWPORT

 Window
 World-coordinate area selected for display
 What is to be viewed

 Viewport
 Area on the display device to which a window is mapped
 Where it is to be displayed
 VIEWPORT TRANSFORMATION

ywmax Window Normalization

yvmax Viewport

(xw, yw) (xv, yv)

ywmin yvmin
xwmin xwmax xvmin xvmax
Screen Coordinates Image Coordinates

xxvv == xxvmin + (x – x wmin)) ** (x

vmin + (xww – xwmin (xvmax – x vmin)) // (x
vmax– xvmin (xwmax – x wmin))
wmax– xwmin
yyvv == yyvmin + (y – y wmin)) ** (y
vmin + (yww– ywmin (yvmax – y vmin)) // (y
vmax– yvmin (ywmax – y wmin))
wmax– ywmin
WORLD COORDINATES TO VIEWING PORT
COORDINATES
 CLIPPING

 Avoid Drawing Parts of Primitives Outside Window

Image

Viewport

Screen
World Coordinates
 POINT CLIPPING

 Is Point(x,y) Inside the Clip Window?

P4 Clipped
Clipped

Window P2
wymax Inside
Inside ::
Clipped
P5
P7
P1 (x>=
(x>= xxwmin ) &&
wmin) &&
Points Within the Window
are Not Clipped
P9 (x<=
(x<= xxwmax ) &&
wmax) &&
P8
wymin
(y>=
(y>= yywmin ) &&
wmin) &&
Clipped P10
(y<=
(y<= yywmax
wmax)
)
wxmin wxmax
 LINE CLIPPING

 For the image below consider which lines and points

should be kept and which ones should be clipped.

Before Clipping After Clipping

 LINE CLIPPING

 Harder - examine the end-points of each line to see if they

are in the window or not

Situation Solution Example

Both end-points inside

Don’t clip
the window

One end-point inside

the window, one Must clip
outside

Both end-points
Don’t know!
outside the window
 BRUTE FORCE LINE CLIPPING

Brute force line clipping can be performed as follows:

 For lines with both end-points

within the window Don’t clip

 For lines with one end-point inside

the window and one end-point

Outside calculate the intersection point
(using the equation of the line) and clip from this point out

 For lines with both end-points outside the window test

the line for intersection with all of the window
boundaries, and clip appropriately
 INTERSECTION POINTS

 Intersection points (x, y) of a line of endpoints

p1(x1, y1) and p2(x2, y2):

 Vertical Intersection

y = y1 + m(x - x1)
x = xwmin or xwmax
 Horizontal Intersection

x = x1 + (y - y1)/m
y = ywmin or ywmax
 BRUTE FORCE LINE CLIPPING (CONT…)

 The brute force algorithm is much too slow

o calculating line intersections is computationally
expensive, because a scene can contain so many lines

 Cohen-Sutherland clipping algorithm: an efficient

line clipping algorithm
oThe key advantage is that it vastly reduces the
number of line intersections that must be calculated
COHEN-SUTHERLAND: WORLD DIVISION

Worldspace is divided into regions based on the

window boundaries
 Each region has a unique four bit region code
 Region codes indicate the position of the regions with
respect to the window

1001 1000 1010

3 2 1 0
0000
above below right left 0001 0010
Window
Region Code Legend
0101 0100 0110
 LINE CLIPPING
 Use Simple Tests to Classify Easy Cases First
 Divide the area into regions represented by Bit Codes, and give each
endpoint a bit code.

1001 P7 1000 1010

Bit 4
P1
P4 P8
0001 P3 0010
0000
P2
P6
Bit 3
0101 P5 0100 0110
Bit 1 Bit 2
 LINE CLIPPING

 If both endpoints has the bit value ‘1’ in the same bit
position, then the line is completely outside

1001 P7 1000 1010

Bit 4
P1
P4 P8
0001 P3 0000 0010
P2
P6
Bit 3
0101 P5 0100 0110
Bit 1 Bit 2
 LINE CLIPPING

 If both endpoints has the bit code 0000, then the line
is completely inside

1001 P7 1000 1010

Bit 4

P4 P8
0001 P3 0000 0010

P6
Bit 3
0101 P5 0100 0110
Bit 1 Bit 2
 LINE CLIPPING

 Otherwise,
Compute Intersections with Window
Boundary for Lines
1001 P7 1000 1010
Bit 4

P4 P8
0001 P3 0000 0010

P6
Bit 3
0101 P5 0100 0110
Bit 1 Bit 2
 COHEN-SUTHERLAND: OTHER LINES

Lines that cannot be identified as completely inside or

outside the window may or may not cross the window
interior
These lines are processed as follows:

 Compare an end-point outside the window to a

boundary (choose any order in which to consider
boundaries e.g. left, right, bottom, top) and
determine how much can be discarded
 If the remainder of the line is entirely inside or
outside the window, retain it or clip it respectively
 COHEN-SUTHERLAND: OTHER LINES
(CONT…)

 Otherwise, compare the remainder of the line against the

other window boundaries
 Continue until the line is either discarded or a segment
inside the window is found
 We can use the region codes to determine which
window boundaries should be considered for
intersection
 To check if a line crosses a particular boundary we
compare the appropriate bits in the region codes of its
end-points
 If one of these is a 1 and the other is a 0 then the line
crosses the boundary
 LINE CLIPPING

1001 P7 1000 1010

Bit 4

P4 P8
0001 P3 0000 0010

P6
Bit 3
0101 P5 0100 0110
Bit 1 Bit 2
 LINE CLIPPING

1001 P7 1000 1010

Bit 4

P4 P8
0001 P3 0000 0010

P6
Bit 3
0101 P’5 0100 0110
Bit 1 Bit 2
 LINE CLIPPING

1001 P7 1000 1010

Bit 4

P4 P8
0001 P3 0000 0010

P6
Bit 3
0101 P’5 0100 0110
Bit 1 Bit 2
 LINE CLIPPING

1001 1000
P’7 1010
Bit 4

P4 P’8
0001 P3 0000 0010

P6
Bit 3
0101 P’5 0100 0110
Bit 1 Bit 2
 LINE CLIPPING

1001 1000
P’7 1010
Bit 4

P4 P’8
0001 P3 0000 0010

P6
Bit 3
0101 P’5 0100 0110
Bit 1 Bit 2
 COHEN-SUTHERLAND EXAMPLES

 Consider the line P9 to P10 below:

 Start at P10 Window

wymax
 From the region codes of the two
end-points we know the line
doesn’t cross the left or right P9 [0000]
boundary wymin
P10’ [0000]
 Calculate the intersection of the
line with the bottom boundary to P10 [0100]

generate point P10’ wxmin wxmax

 The line P9 to P10’ is completely
inside the window so is retained
 COHEN-SUTHERLAND EXAMPLES

 Consider the line P7 to P8

 Start at P7
Window
wymax
 From the two region
codes of the two end- P7’ [0000]
points we know the line P7 [0001]
P8’ [0000] P [0010]
crosses the left boundary wymin
8

so calculate the
intersection point to
generate P7’
wxmin wxmax
 COHEN-SUTHERLAND EXAMPLES

 Consider the line P7’ to P8

 Start at P8
Window
wymax
 Calculate the intersection
with the right boundary to P7’ [0000]
P8 [0010]
generate P8’ P7 [0001]
P8’ [0000]
 P7’ to P8’ is inside
the wymin
window so is retained

wxmin wxmax
 AREA CLIPPING

Similarly to lines, areas must be

clipped to a window boundary

Consideration must be taken as

to which portions of the area
must be clipped
 SUTHERLAND-HODGMAN AREA
CLIPPING ALGORITHM

A technique for clipping areas developed by Sutherland

& Hodgman

 Put simply the polygon is clipped by comparing it against

each boundary in turn
 SUTHERLAND-HODGMAN AREA
CLIPPING ALGORITHM (CONT…)

 To clip an area against an individual boundary:

 Consider each vertex in turn against the boundary

 Vertices inside the boundary are saved for clipping against the
next boundary
 Vertices outside the boundary are clipped
 If we proceed from a point inside the boundary to one outside,
the intersection of the line with the boundary is saved
 If we cross from the outside to the inside intersection point and
the vertex are saved
 CASE 1: BOTH V1 & V2 OUT

OUT IN

Out OUT V1

Action: nothing
Polygon
being
clipped

V2
Clip boundary
 CASE 2: BOTH V1 & V2 IN

OUT IN
V2
IN IN

Action: save V2

V1
 CASE 3: V1 IN & V2 OUT

OUT IN
V1
IN OUT V2
V1’

Action: save V1’

 CASE 4: V1 OUT & V2 IN

OUT IN

Out IN

Action: save V1’ V2

V2
V1’
V1
 HODGEMAN-SUTHERLAND

v1 v2
v4

v3
v5 v6

v8 v7
 HODGEMAN-SUTHERLAND

v1 v2
v4

v3
v5 v6

v8 v7
HODGEMAN-SUTHERLAND: TOP

1 2
4 3
v3
v5 v6

v8 v7
 HODGEMAN-SUTHERLAND:TOP

(v1 v 2 v3 v 4 v5 v6 v7 v8) 

(1  2 v3  3  4 v5 v6 v7 v8)
HODGEMAN-SUTHERLAND: BOTTOM

1 2
4 3
v3
v5 v6

v8 v7
HODGEMAN-SUTHERLAND: BOTTOM

1 2
4 3
v3
v5 v6

5 6
 HODGEMAN-SUTHERLAND: BOTTOM

(1  2 v3  3  4 v5 v6 v7 v8) 

( 51  2 v3  3  4 v5 v6  6)
HODGEMAN-SUTHERLAND: RIGHT

1 2
4 3
v3
v5 v6

5 6
 HODGEMAN-SUTHERLAND: RIGHT

This case is trivial: do nothing

( 51  2 v3  3  4 v5 v6  6) 

( 51  2 v3  3  4 v5 v6  6)
HODGEMAN-SUTHERLAND: LEFT

1 2
4 3
v3
v5 v6

5 6
HODGEMAN-SUTHERLAND: LEFT

8 2
9 3
v3
10
v6
7 6
 HODGEMAN-SUTHERLAND: LEFT

( 51  2 v3  3  4 v5 v6  6) 

( 7  8  2 v3  3  910 v6  5)
 HODGEMAN-SUTHERLAND: DONE

Extra
Lines
 EXTENDED H-S ALGORITHM

 Tag the different new vertices

 Call  the one generated on transition from IN
to OUT
 Call  the one generated on transition from

OUT to IN
 Starting
from OUT, connect  and  as soon
as  is generated
EXAMPLE OF H-S ALGORITHM

OUT IN


HODGEMAN-SUTHERLAND: DONE
SUTHERLAND-HODGMAN EXAMPLE

P
S

S
P I

P S
Save Point I No Points Saved
Save Point P

S
I P

Save Points I & P

 WEILER-ATHERTON POLYGON CLIPPING

 Another approach to polygon clipping

 No extra clipping outside window
 Works for arbitrary shapes
 Avoids degenerate polygons
 WEILER-ATHERTON CLIPPING

• Start at first (inside) vertex

• Traverse polygon until hitting a window boundary
•
Output intersection pointi
• Turn right
• Follow window boundary until next intersection
• Output second intersection
• Turn right, again, and follow subject polygon until
closed
• Continue on subject polygon from first intersection
point.
• Repeat processing until complete
 WEILER-ATHERTON CLIPPING

13

14
4 2
3
5 1

12 6

9 Clip
7 Polygon (ep)
Subject Polygon 8
10
(sp)
11
WEILER-ATHERTON CLIPPING
 OTHER AREA CLIPPING CONCERNS

 Clipping concave areas can be a little more tricky as often

superfluous lines must be removed .

Clipping curves requires more work, e.g., for circles we must

find the two intersection points on the window boundary.
 TEXT CLIPPING

 All-or-None String Clipping

 TEXT CLIPPING

 All-or-None Character Clipping

End of Chapter