convex hull Algorithm
As well as for finite point sets, convex hulls have also been study for simple polygons, Brownian movement, space curves, and epigraphs of functions. related structures include the orthogonal convex hull, convex layers, Delaunay triangulation and Voronoi diagram, and convex skull.
The lower convex hull of points in the airplane looks, in the form of a Newton polygon, in a letter from Isaac Newton to Henry Oldenburg in 1676.The term" convex hull" itself looks as early as the work of Garrett Birkhoff (1935), and the corresponding term in German looks earlier, for case in Hans Rademacher's review of Kőnig (1922).By 1938, according to Lloyd Dines, the term" convex hull" had become standard;
Dines adds that he finds the term unfortunate, because the colloquial meaning of the word" hull" would suggest that it refers to the surface of a shape, whereas the convex hull includes the interior and not exactly the surface.
"""
The convex hull problem is problem of finding all the vertices of convex polygon, P of
a set of points in a plane such that all the points are either on the vertices of P or
inside P. TH convex hull problem has several applications in geometrical problems,
computer graphics and game development.
Two algorithms have been implemented for the convex hull problem here.
1. A brute-force algorithm which runs in O(n^3)
2. A divide-and-conquer algorithm which runs in O(n log(n))
There are other several other algorithms for the convex hull problem
which have not been implemented here, yet.
"""
class Point:
"""
Defines a 2-d point for use by all convex-hull algorithms.
Parameters
----------
x: an int or a float, the x-coordinate of the 2-d point
y: an int or a float, the y-coordinate of the 2-d point
Examples
--------
>>> Point(1, 2)
(1.0, 2.0)
>>> Point("1", "2")
(1.0, 2.0)
>>> Point(1, 2) > Point(0, 1)
True
>>> Point(1, 1) == Point(1, 1)
True
>>> Point(-0.5, 1) == Point(0.5, 1)
False
>>> Point("pi", "e")
Traceback (most recent call last):
...
ValueError: could not convert string to float: 'pi'
"""
def __init__(self, x, y):
self.x, self.y = float(x), float(y)
def __eq__(self, other):
return self.x == other.x and self.y == other.y
def __ne__(self, other):
return not self == other
def __gt__(self, other):
if self.x > other.x:
return True
elif self.x == other.x:
return self.y > other.y
return False
def __lt__(self, other):
return not self > other
def __ge__(self, other):
if self.x > other.x:
return True
elif self.x == other.x:
return self.y >= other.y
return False
def __le__(self, other):
if self.x < other.x:
return True
elif self.x == other.x:
return self.y <= other.y
return False
def __repr__(self):
return f"({self.x}, {self.y})"
def __hash__(self):
return hash(self.x)
def _construct_points(list_of_tuples):
"""
constructs a list of points from an array-like object of numbers
Arguments
---------
list_of_tuples: array-like object of type numbers. Acceptable types so far
are lists, tuples and sets.
Returns
--------
points: a list where each item is of type Point. This contains only objects
which can be converted into a Point.
Examples
-------
>>> _construct_points([[1, 1], [2, -1], [0.3, 4]])
[(1.0, 1.0), (2.0, -1.0), (0.3, 4.0)]
>>> _construct_points([1, 2])
Ignoring deformed point 1. All points must have at least 2 coordinates.
Ignoring deformed point 2. All points must have at least 2 coordinates.
[]
>>> _construct_points([])
[]
>>> _construct_points(None)
[]
"""
points = []
if list_of_tuples:
for p in list_of_tuples:
try:
points.append(Point(p[0], p[1]))
except (IndexError, TypeError):
print(
f"Ignoring deformed point {p}. All points"
" must have at least 2 coordinates."
)
return points
def _validate_input(points):
"""
validates an input instance before a convex-hull algorithms uses it
Parameters
---------
points: array-like, the 2d points to validate before using with
a convex-hull algorithm. The elements of points must be either lists, tuples or
Points.
Returns
-------
points: array_like, an iterable of all well-defined Points constructed passed in.
Exception
---------
ValueError: if points is empty or None, or if a wrong data structure like a scalar is passed
TypeError: if an iterable but non-indexable object (eg. dictionary) is passed.
The exception to this a set which we'll convert to a list before using
Examples
-------
>>> _validate_input([[1, 2]])
[(1.0, 2.0)]
>>> _validate_input([(1, 2)])
[(1.0, 2.0)]
>>> _validate_input([Point(2, 1), Point(-1, 2)])
[(2.0, 1.0), (-1.0, 2.0)]
>>> _validate_input([])
Traceback (most recent call last):
...
ValueError: Expecting a list of points but got []
>>> _validate_input(1)
Traceback (most recent call last):
...
ValueError: Expecting an iterable object but got an non-iterable type 1
"""
if not points:
raise ValueError(f"Expecting a list of points but got {points}")
if isinstance(points, set):
points = list(points)
try:
if hasattr(points, "__iter__") and not isinstance(points[0], Point):
if isinstance(points[0], (list, tuple)):
points = _construct_points(points)
else:
raise ValueError(
"Expecting an iterable of type Point, list or tuple. "
f"Found objects of type {type(points[0])} instead"
)
elif not hasattr(points, "__iter__"):
raise ValueError(
f"Expecting an iterable object but got an non-iterable type {points}"
)
except TypeError:
print("Expecting an iterable of type Point, list or tuple.")
raise
return points
def _det(a, b, c):
"""
Computes the sign perpendicular distance of a 2d point c from a line segment
ab. The sign indicates the direction of c relative to ab.
A Positive value means c is above ab (to the left), while a negative value
means c is below ab (to the right). 0 means all three points are on a straight line.
As a side note, 0.5 * abs|det| is the area of triangle abc
Parameters
----------
a: point, the point on the left end of line segment ab
b: point, the point on the right end of line segment ab
c: point, the point for which the direction and location is desired.
Returns
--------
det: float, abs(det) is the distance of c from ab. The sign
indicates which side of line segment ab c is. det is computed as
(a_xb_y + c_xa_y + b_xc_y) - (a_yb_x + c_ya_x + b_yc_x)
Examples
----------
>>> _det(Point(1, 1), Point(1, 2), Point(1, 5))
0.0
>>> _det(Point(0, 0), Point(10, 0), Point(0, 10))
100.0
>>> _det(Point(0, 0), Point(10, 0), Point(0, -10))
-100.0
"""
det = (a.x * b.y + b.x * c.y + c.x * a.y) - (a.y * b.x + b.y * c.x + c.y * a.x)
return det
def convex_hull_bf(points):
"""
Constructs the convex hull of a set of 2D points using a brute force algorithm.
The algorithm basically considers all combinations of points (i, j) and uses the
definition of convexity to determine whether (i, j) is part of the convex hull or not.
(i, j) is part of the convex hull if and only iff there are no points on both sides
of the line segment connecting the ij, and there is no point k such that k is on either end
of the ij.
Runtime: O(n^3) - definitely horrible
Parameters
---------
points: array-like of object of Points, lists or tuples.
The set of 2d points for which the convex-hull is needed
Returns
------
convex_set: list, the convex-hull of points sorted in non-decreasing order.
See Also
--------
convex_hull_recursive,
Examples
---------
>>> convex_hull_bf([[0, 0], [1, 0], [10, 1]])
[(0.0, 0.0), (1.0, 0.0), (10.0, 1.0)]
>>> convex_hull_bf([[0, 0], [1, 0], [10, 0]])
[(0.0, 0.0), (10.0, 0.0)]
>>> convex_hull_bf([[-1, 1],[-1, -1], [0, 0], [0.5, 0.5], [1, -1], [1, 1], [-0.75, 1]])
[(-1.0, -1.0), (-1.0, 1.0), (1.0, -1.0), (1.0, 1.0)]
>>> convex_hull_bf([(0, 3), (2, 2), (1, 1), (2, 1), (3, 0), (0, 0), (3, 3), (2, -1), (2, -4), (1, -3)])
[(0.0, 0.0), (0.0, 3.0), (1.0, -3.0), (2.0, -4.0), (3.0, 0.0), (3.0, 3.0)]
"""
points = sorted(_validate_input(points))
n = len(points)
convex_set = set()
for i in range(n - 1):
for j in range(i + 1, n):
points_left_of_ij = points_right_of_ij = False
ij_part_of_convex_hull = True
for k in range(n):
if k != i and k != j:
det_k = _det(points[i], points[j], points[k])
if det_k > 0:
points_left_of_ij = True
elif det_k < 0:
points_right_of_ij = True
else:
# point[i], point[j], point[k] all lie on a straight line
# if point[k] is to the left of point[i] or it's to the
# right of point[j], then point[i], point[j] cannot be
# part of the convex hull of A
if points[k] < points[i] or points[k] > points[j]:
ij_part_of_convex_hull = False
break
if points_left_of_ij and points_right_of_ij:
ij_part_of_convex_hull = False
break
if ij_part_of_convex_hull:
convex_set.update([points[i], points[j]])
return sorted(convex_set)
def convex_hull_recursive(points):
"""
Constructs the convex hull of a set of 2D points using a divide-and-conquer strategy
The algorithm exploits the geometric properties of the problem by repeatedly partitioning
the set of points into smaller hulls, and finding the convex hull of these smaller hulls.
The union of the convex hull from smaller hulls is the solution to the convex hull of the larger problem.
Parameter
---------
points: array-like of object of Points, lists or tuples.
The set of 2d points for which the convex-hull is needed
Runtime: O(n log n)
Returns
-------
convex_set: list, the convex-hull of points sorted in non-decreasing order.
Examples
---------
>>> convex_hull_recursive([[0, 0], [1, 0], [10, 1]])
[(0.0, 0.0), (1.0, 0.0), (10.0, 1.0)]
>>> convex_hull_recursive([[0, 0], [1, 0], [10, 0]])
[(0.0, 0.0), (10.0, 0.0)]
>>> convex_hull_recursive([[-1, 1],[-1, -1], [0, 0], [0.5, 0.5], [1, -1], [1, 1], [-0.75, 1]])
[(-1.0, -1.0), (-1.0, 1.0), (1.0, -1.0), (1.0, 1.0)]
>>> convex_hull_recursive([(0, 3), (2, 2), (1, 1), (2, 1), (3, 0), (0, 0), (3, 3), (2, -1), (2, -4), (1, -3)])
[(0.0, 0.0), (0.0, 3.0), (1.0, -3.0), (2.0, -4.0), (3.0, 0.0), (3.0, 3.0)]
"""
points = sorted(_validate_input(points))
n = len(points)
# divide all the points into an upper hull and a lower hull
# the left most point and the right most point are definitely
# members of the convex hull by definition.
# use these two anchors to divide all the points into two hulls,
# an upper hull and a lower hull.
# all points to the left (above) the line joining the extreme points belong to the upper hull
# all points to the right (below) the line joining the extreme points below to the lower hull
# ignore all points on the line joining the extreme points since they cannot be part of the
# convex hull
left_most_point = points[0]
right_most_point = points[n - 1]
convex_set = {left_most_point, right_most_point}
upper_hull = []
lower_hull = []
for i in range(1, n - 1):
det = _det(left_most_point, right_most_point, points[i])
if det > 0:
upper_hull.append(points[i])
elif det < 0:
lower_hull.append(points[i])
_construct_hull(upper_hull, left_most_point, right_most_point, convex_set)
_construct_hull(lower_hull, right_most_point, left_most_point, convex_set)
return sorted(convex_set)
def _construct_hull(points, left, right, convex_set):
"""
Parameters
---------
points: list or None, the hull of points from which to choose the next convex-hull point
left: Point, the point to the left of line segment joining left and right
right: The point to the right of the line segment joining left and right
convex_set: set, the current convex-hull. The state of convex-set gets updated by this function
Note
----
For the line segment 'ab', 'a' is on the left and 'b' on the right.
but the reverse is true for the line segment 'ba'.
Returns
-------
Nothing, only updates the state of convex-set
"""
if points:
extreme_point = None
extreme_point_distance = float("-inf")
candidate_points = []
for p in points:
det = _det(left, right, p)
if det > 0:
candidate_points.append(p)
if det > extreme_point_distance:
extreme_point_distance = det
extreme_point = p
if extreme_point:
_construct_hull(candidate_points, left, extreme_point, convex_set)
convex_set.add(extreme_point)
_construct_hull(candidate_points, extreme_point, right, convex_set)
def main():
points = [
(0, 3),
(2, 2),
(1, 1),
(2, 1),
(3, 0),
(0, 0),
(3, 3),
(2, -1),
(2, -4),
(1, -3),
]
# the convex set of points is
# [(0, 0), (0, 3), (1, -3), (2, -4), (3, 0), (3, 3)]
results_recursive = convex_hull_recursive(points)
results_bf = convex_hull_bf(points)
assert results_bf == results_recursive
print(results_bf)
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
