Clipping (computer graphics)

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When rendering graphics, clipping refers to the task of making sure that only the visible part is actually drawn. This is non-trivial, especially for 3D animations: if the objects are built up of, say, polygons, a routine is needed that determines for each polygon whether it is visible within the viewport (i.e. the part of the 3D "world" displayed) or out off the borders. Special care is needed for the case of polygons intersected by the viewport border as their shape has to be adjusted.

Several clipping algorithms have been devised.

  • Line clipping algorithms:
    • Cohen-Sutherland
    • Liang-Barsky
    • Nicholl-Lee-Nicholl
  • Polygon clipping algorithms:
    • Sutherland-Hodgman
    • Weiler-Atherton


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