CONSTRUCTION AND DISPLAY OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL POLYGONAL-HISTOGRAMS.

Abstract

A new algorithm for displaying a set of prisms constructed on a 2-D tiling composed of simple polygons is presented. Throughout this paper let a prism be defined as a polyhedron with two congruent and parallel faces that are joined by a set of rectangles. The 2-D tiling, given as ordered pairs (x,y) representing the vertices of the polygons, is located on the base plane z equals 0. A positive value is associated with each polygon, establishing the top of the prism constructed upon it. The resulting scene is displayed with hidden lines removed and shading. Compared to the existing algorithm for this problem, the algorithm presented here is less complicated, more versatile, and equally fast. If the 2-D tiling is to be provided by the system and accessed by the user community with varying viewpoints and/or heights, the algorithm presented here is faster than previously published solutions.