San Diego Java User's Group

Speaker: Erik Colban

Title: Bezier Curves and the Java API

Abstract:The Java API includes a handful of classes that are useful for adding graphics to a Java application. The best known and most used are probably the Line2D, Rectangle2D, and Ellipse2D. The classes Line2D, QuadCurve2D and CubicCurve2D are used to render linear, quadratic and cubic parametric curves. When combined in a sequence, these curves may be used for describing and rendering any imaginable shape and, hence, constitute the building blocks of the 2D shapes in general (including lines, rectangles and ellipses). A typical example is the description and rendering of the shapes of the characters in a font (the glyphs). A Bezier curve is a particular representation form of a parametric curve used by the classes mentioned above. In this talk, I will introduce and explain the concepts of a parametric curve, Bezier curve, and other related concepts, and describe algorithms for finding the control points of a Bezier curve and fitting any arbitrary curve with a sequence of Bezier curves. The talk will be richly illustrated with figures and runnable demos.

Bio:

• Phd in Mathematics from the University of Oslo
• Worked in telecommunications/wireless industry R&D for almost 20 years
• Started using Java about 8-9 years ago. Developed Drawmetry, a constraint-based drawing program; see drawmetry.com, also available for free at java.store.com
• Teacher at Wintrisstech since early 2009, teaching kids 6th grade and up Java programing
• Currently consulting.