BRDC: binary representation of displacement code for line

In raster graphics, a line is displayed as a sequence of connected pixels that best approximate the line with minimum deviation. The displacement code of a line is a sequence of binary codes, each of which represents the displacement of a pixel on the line to its immediate predecessor pixel on the line. In fact, the displacement code records the entire process of drawing a line with successive pixels and it is deterministic for each specific line. In this paper, we study the important properties of the binary representation of displacement code, called BRDC, including calculation formula, periodicity, complement, decomposition etc. At last, we put forward an efficient adaptive multi-pixel line drawing algorithm based on exploited properties of BRDC, which demonstrates that BRDC is significant for designing efficient line drawing algorithms. r 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.