line-intersection
This interactive visualization demonstrates the Bentley–Ottmann algorithm for finding line segment intersections. Users can drag endpoints to move lines, click to add new segments, and right-click to remove them. The algorithm sweeps a line from top to bottom, maintaining the order of segment x-positions at the current y (shown in the right panel), checking only adjacent pairs as the ordering changes. This reduces the complexity from O(n²) to O(n log n + I log n) for a set of lines with I intersections. The SVG rendering shows the segments and highlights intersections dynamically as they are discovered.
AI-generated descriptionThe Bentley–Ottmann algorithm finds all the intersections that occur in a set of line segments. Drag the endpoints of the line to move, click to add and right click to remove.
Instead of calculating the intersection of every pair of segments, which would require O(n²) comparisons for a set of n lines, the algorithm uses a sweep line. Starting at the top of the screen and moving down, it keeps track of the order of the lines' x positions at the current y position (represented by the figure on the right). As lines start, end or intersect, new pairs of lines become adjacent in the x ordering and are checked for intersections.
A set of lines with I intersections ends up only requiring O(n log n + I log n) operations. Computational Geometry: Algorithms and Applications, chapter 2 has a proof and a more detailed explanation.
forked from <a href='http://bl.ocks.org/1wheel/'>1wheel</a>'s block: <a href='http://bl.ocks.org/1wheel/464141fe9b940153e636'>line-intersection</a>