Efficient clipping of arbitrary polygons

Abstract

Clipping 2D polygons is one of the basic routines in computer graphics. In rendering complex 3D images it has to be done several thousand times. Efficient algorithms are therefore very important. We present such an efficient algorithm for clipping arbitrary 2D-polygons. The algorithm can handle arbitrary closed polygons, specifically where the clip and subject polygons may self-intersect. The algorithm is simple and faster than Vatti's [1992] algorithm, which was designed for the general case as well. Simple modifications allow determination of union and set theoretic differences of two arbitrary polygons.