Class AklToussaintHeuristic


  • public final class AklToussaintHeuristic
    extends Object
    A simple heuristic to improve the performance of convex hull algorithms.

    The heuristic is based on the idea of a convex quadrilateral, which is formed by four points with the lowest and highest x / y coordinates. Any point that lies inside this quadrilateral can not be part of the convex hull and can thus be safely discarded before generating the convex hull itself.

    The complexity of the operation is O(n), and may greatly improve the time it takes to construct the convex hull afterwards, depending on the point distribution.

    See Also:
    Akl-Toussaint heuristic (Wikipedia)
    • Method Detail

      • reducePoints

        public static Collection<Vector2D> reducePoints​(Collection<Vector2D> points)
        Returns a point set that is reduced by all points for which it is safe to assume that they are not part of the convex hull.
        Parameters:
        points - the original point set
        Returns:
        a reduced point set, useful as input for convex hull algorithms