[boost] Preview 3 of the Geometry Library

Subject: [boost] Preview 3 of the Geometry Library
From: Barend Gehrels (barend_at_[hidden])
Date: 2008-10-14 11:53:57

Dear list,

Herewith the URL to the third preview of our Geometry Library, including documentation and examples.

The first two previews were sent to this list in January and in March. Since then, Bruno Lalande, already a Boost contributor, joined and we together reworked the library and its concepts. Lines (sequences of points) are now generic, handled using iterator pairs. Concepts have been worked out and integrated everywhere in the code. A Google Summer of Code project, handling Spatial Indexing, is based on the geometries of this library.

Many discussions and comments were related to the concepts and, more specific, to the Point concept. This is the most basic thing of a geometry library and has to be as generic as possible. We think we implemented it like that into the library. The library can handle all point types including legacy point types, point types provided by the library, user defined point types, Cartesian points, native arrays, points with spherical coordinates. The library provides point_xy for Cartesian systems and point_ll for lat long systems, but the library user is thus not confined to those types.

Using a strategy mechanism, the library should be able to handle every point type, and lines made of those types. The distance / simplify algorithms clearly show this design.

The library is not completed, it is still a preview. It is used in real life projects but will still be enhanced and extended. The point type is now generic and lines (sequences of points) are generic. However, boxes, circles and polygons still have to be reviewed and their concepts can be worked out further. Some algorithms will be reprocessed to use strategies and handle any point type.

The URL with documentation is here: http://geometrylibrary.geodan.nl. The library is Open Source and uses the Boost License. However, being a preview and not yet a real submission, the SVN is not at boost but still hosted at Geodan. If you are interested you can get SVN access.

There were since March two other geometry library references sent to the list. This really shows the need for a Geometry Library into the boost collection. We welcome any discussion, comment or contribution and we are open for any type of cooperation, merge or join.

Barend Gehrels