Computer Graphics

Bresenham’s Line Drawing Algorithm

In computer graphics, popular algorithms used to generate lines are-

Digital Differential Analyzer (DDA) Line Drawing Algorithm

Bresenham Line Drawing Algorithm
Mid Point Line Drawing Algorithm

In this article, we will discuss about Bresenham Line Drawing Algorithm

Bresenham Line Drawing Algorithm-

Given the starting and ending coordinates of a line,

Bresenham= Line Drawing Algorithm attempts to generate the points between the starting and ending
coordinates.

Procedure-

Given-
Starting coordinates = (X0, Y0)
Ending coordinates = (Xn, Yn)

The points generation using Bresenham Line Drawing Algorithm involves the
following steps-
Step-01:

Calculate ΔX and ΔY from the given input.

These parameters are calculated as-
ΔX = Xn – X0
ΔY =Yn – Y0

Step-02:

Calculate the decision parameter Pk.

It is calculated as-
Pk = 2ΔY – ΔX

Step-03:

Suppose the current point is (Xk, Yk) and the next point is (Xk+1, Yk+1).
Find the next point depending on the value of decision parameter P k.
Follow the below two cases-

Step-04:

Keep repeating Step-03 until the end point is reached or number of iterations
equals to (ΔX-1) times.
PRACTICE PROBLEMS BASED ON BRESENHAM
LINE DRAWING ALGORITHM-

Problem-01:

Calculate the points between the starting coordinates (9, 18) and ending
coordinates (14, 22).

Solution-

Given-
Starting coordinates = (X0, Y0) = (9, 18)
Ending coordinates = (Xn, Yn) = (14, 22)

Step-01:

Calculate ΔX and ΔY from the given input.

ΔX = Xn – X0 = 14 – 9 = 5
ΔY =Yn – Y0 = 22 – 18 = 4

Step-02:

Calculate the decision parameter.

Pk
= 2ΔY – ΔX
=2x4–5
=3
So, decision parameter Pk = 3

Step-03:

As Pk >= 0, so case-02 is satisfied.

Thus,
Pk+1 = Pk + 2ΔY – 2ΔX = 3 + (2 x 4) – (2 x 5) = 1
Xk+1 = Xk + 1 = 9 + 1 = 10
Yk+1 = Yk + 1 = 18 + 1 = 19

Similarly, Step-03 is executed until the end point is reached or number of

iterations equals to 4 times.
(Number of iterations = ΔX – 1 = 5 – 1 = 4)

Pk Pk+1 Xk+1 Yk+1

9 18

3 1 10 19

1 -1 11 20

-1 7 12 20

7 5 13 21

5 3 14 22
Problem-02:

Calculate the points between the starting coordinates (20, 10) and ending
coordinates (30, 18).

Solution-

Given-
Starting coordinates = (X0, Y0) = (20, 10)
Ending coordinates = (Xn, Yn) = (30, 18)

Step-01:

Calculate ΔX and ΔY from the given input.

ΔX = Xn – X0 = 30 – 20 = 10
ΔY =Yn – Y0 = 18 – 10 = 8

Step-02:

Calculate the decision parameter.

Pk
= 2ΔY – ΔX
= 2 x 8 – 10
=6
So, decision parameter Pk = 6

Step-03:

As Pk >= 0, so case-02 is satisfied.

Thus,
Pk+1 = Pk + 2ΔY – 2ΔX = 6 + (2 x 8) – (2 x 10) = 2
Xk+1 = Xk + 1 = 20 + 1 = 21
Yk+1 = Yk + 1 = 10 + 1 = 11

Similarly, Step-03 is executed until the end point is reached or number of

iterations equals to 9 times.
(Number of iterations = ΔX – 1 = 10 – 1 = 9)

Pk Pk+1 Xk+1 Yk+1

20 10

6 2 21 11

2 -2 22 12

-2 14 23 12

14 10 24 13

10 6 25 14

6 2 26 15

2 -2 27 16

-2 14 28 16

14 10 29 17

10 6 30 18
Advantages of Bresenham Line Drawing
Algorithm-

The advantages of Bresenham Line Drawing Algorithm are-

It is easy to implement.
It is fast and incremental.
It executes fast but less faster than DDA Algorithm.
The points generated by this algorithm are more accurate than DDA
Algorithm.
It uses fixed points only.

Disadvantages of Bresenham Line Drawing

Algorithm-
The disadvantages of Bresenham Line Drawing Algorithm are-
Though it improves the accuracy of generated points but still the resulted
line is not smooth.
This algorithm is for the basic line drawing.

Mid Point Line Drawing Algorithm-

Given the starting and ending coordinates of a line,

Mid Point Line Drawing Algorithm attempts to generate the points between the starting
and ending coordinates.

Procedure-

Given-
Starting coordinates = (X0, Y0)
Ending coordinates = (Xn, Yn)

The points generation using Mid Point Line Drawing Algorithm involves the
following steps-

Step-01:

Calculate ΔX and ΔY from the given input.

These parameters are calculated as-
ΔX = Xn – X0
ΔY =Yn – Y0

Step-02:

Calculate the value of initial decision parameter and ΔD.

These parameters are calculated as-
Dinitial = 2ΔY – ΔX
ΔD = 2(ΔY – ΔX)

Step-03:
The decision whether to increment X or Y coordinate depends upon the flowing
values of Dinitial.
Follow the below two cases-

Step-04:

Keep repeating Step-03 until the end point is reached.

For each Dnew value, follow the above cases to find the next coordinates.

PRACTICE PROBLEMS BASED ON MID POINT

LINE DRAWING ALGORITHM-

Problem-01:
Calculate the points between the starting coordinates (20, 10) and ending
coordinates (30, 18).

Solution-
Given-
Starting coordinates = (X0, Y0) = (20, 10)
Ending coordinates = (Xn, Yn) = (30, 18)
Step-01:

Calculate ΔX and ΔY from the given input.

ΔX = Xn – X0 = 30 – 20 = 10
ΔY =Yn – Y0 = 18 – 10 = 8

Step-02:

Calculate Dinitial and ΔD as-

Dinitial = 2ΔY – ΔX = 2 x 8 – 10 = 6
ΔD = 2(ΔY – ΔX) = 2 x (8 – 10) = -4

Step-03:

As Dinitial >= 0, so case-02 is satisfied.

Thus,
Xk+1 = Xk + 1 = 20 + 1 = 21
Yk+1 = Yk + 1 = 10 + 1 = 11
Dnew = Dinitial + ΔD = 6 + (-4) = 2

Similarly, Step-03 is executed until the end point is reached.

Dinitial Dnew Xk+1 Yk+1

20 10

6 2 21 11

2 -2 22 12

-2 14 23 12

14 10 24 13

10 6 25 14

6 2 26 15

2 -2 27 16

-2 14 28 16

14 10 29 17

10 30 18
Problem-02:
Calculate the points between the starting coordinates (5, 9) and ending
coordinates (12, 16).

Solution-
Given-
Starting coordinates = (X0, Y0) = (5, 9)
Ending coordinates = (Xn, Yn) = (12, 16)

Step-01:

Calculate ΔX and ΔY from the given input.

ΔX = Xn – X0 = 12 – 5 = 7
ΔY =Yn – Y0 = 16 – 9 = 7

Step-02:

Calculate Dinitial and ΔD as-

Dinitial = 2ΔY – ΔX = 2 x 7 – 7 = 7
ΔD = 2(ΔY – ΔX) = 2 x (7 – 7) = 0

Step-03:

As Dinitial >= 0, so case-02 is satisfied.

Thus,
Xk+1 = Xk + 1 = 5 + 1 = 6
Yk+1 = Yk + 1 = 9 + 1 = 10
Dnew = Dinitial + ΔD = 7 + 0 = 7

Similarly, Step-03 is executed until the end point is reached.

Dinitial Dnew Xk+1 Yk+1

5 9

7 7 6 10

7 7 7 11

7 7 8 12

7 7 9 13

7 7 10 14

7 7 11 15

7 12 16
Advantages of Mid Point Line Drawing
Algorithm-
The advantages of Mid Point Line Drawing Algorithm are-
Accuracy of finding points is a key feature of this algorithm.
It is simple to implement.
It uses basic arithmetic operations.
It takes less time for computation.
The resulted line is smooth as compared to other line drawing algorithms.

Also Read- Bresenham Line Drawing Algorithm

Disadvantages of Mid Point Line Drawing

Algorithm-
The disadvantages of Mid Point Line Drawing Algorithm are-
This algorithm may not be an ideal choice for complex graphics and images.
In terms of accuracy of finding points, improvement is still needed.
There is no any remarkable improvement made by this algorithm.
Bresenham Circle Drawing
Algorithm
Computer Graphics
Circle Drawing Algorithms-

In computer graphics, popular algorithms used to generate circle are-

Mid Point Circle Drawing Algorithm

Bresenham Circle Drawing Algorithm

In this article, we will discuss about Bresenham Circle Drawing Algorithm.

Bresenham Circle Drawing Algorithm-

 Given the centre point and radius of circle,
Bresenham Circle Drawing Algorithm attempts to generate the points of one octant.

The points for other octact are generated using the eight symmetry property.

Also Read- Mid Point Circle Drawing Algorithm

Procedure-

Given-
Centre point of Circle = (X0, Y0)
Radius of Circle = R

The points generation using Bresenham Circle Drawing Algorithm involves

the following steps-

Step-01:

Assign the starting point coordinates (X0, Y0) as-

X0 = 0
Y0 = R

Step-02:

Calculate the value of initial decision parameter P 0 as-

P0 = 3 – 2 x R

Step-03:

Suppose the current point is (Xk, Yk) and the next point is (Xk+1, Yk+1).
Find the next point of the first octant depending on the value of decision
parameter Pk.
Follow the below two cases-
Step-04:

If the given centre point (X0, Y0) is not (0, 0), then do the following and plot
the point-
Xplot = Xc + X0
Yplot = Yc + Y0

Here, (Xc, Yc) denotes the current value of X and Y coordinates.

Step-05:

Keep repeating Step-03 and Step-04 until Xplot => Yplot.

Step-06:

Step-05 generates all the points for one octant.

To find the points for other seven octants, follow the eight symmetry
property of circle.
This is depicted by the following figure-
PRACTICE PROBLEMS BASED ON BRESENHAM
CIRCLE DRAWING ALGORITHM-

Problem-01:

Given the centre point coordinates (0, 0) and radius as 8, generate all the
points to form a circle.

Solution-

Given-
Centre Coordinates of Circle (X0, Y0) = (0, 0)
Radius of Circle = 8

Step-01:

Assign the starting point coordinates (X0, Y0) as-

X0 = 0
Y0 = R = 8

Step-02:

Calculate the value of initial decision parameter P 0 as-

P0 = 3 – 2 x R
P0 = 3 – 2 x 8
P0 = -13

Step-03:

As Pinitial < 0, so case-01 is satisfied.

Thus,
Xk+1 = Xk + 1 = 0 + 1 = 1
Yk+1 = Yk = 8
Pk+1 = Pk + 4 x Xk+1 + 6 = -13 + (4 x 1) + 6 = -3

Step-04:

This step is not applicable here as the given centre point coordinates is (0,
0).

Step-05:

Step-03 is executed similarly until Xk+1 >= Yk+1 as follows-

 Pk Pk+1 (Xk+1, Yk+1)

(0, 8)

-13 -3 (1, 8)

-3 11 (2, 8)

11 5 (3, 7)

5 7 (4, 6)

7 (5, 5)

Algorithm Terminates
These are all points for Octant-1.

Algorithm calculates all the points of octant-1 and terminates.

Now, the points of octant-2 are obtained using the mirror effect by swapping
X and Y coordinates.

Octant-1 Points Octant-2 Points

(0, 8) (5, 5)

(1, 8) (6, 4)

(2, 8) (7, 3)

(3, 7) (8, 2)

(4, 6) (8, 1)

(5, 5) (8, 0)

These are all points for Quadrant-1.

Now, the points for rest of the part are generated by following the signs of
other quadrants.
The other points can also be generated by calculating each octant
separately.

Here, all the points have been generated with respect to quadrant-1-

Quadrant-1 (X,Y) Quadrant-2 (-X,Y) Quadrant-3 (-X,-Y) Quadrant-4 (X,-Y)

(0, 8) (0, 8) (0, -8) (0, -8)

(1, 8) (-1, 8) (-1, -8) (1, -8)

(2, 8) (-2, 8) (-2, -8) (2, -8)

(3, 7) (-3, 7) (-3, -7) (3, -7)

(4, 6) (-4, 6) (-4, -6) (4, -6)

(5, 5) (-5, 5) (-5, -5) (5, -5)

(6, 4) (-6, 4) (-6, -4) (6, -4)

(7, 3) (-7, 3) (-7, -3) (7, -3)

(8, 2) (-8, 2) (-8, -2) (8, -2)

(8, 1) (-8, 1) (-8, -1) (8, -1)

(8, 0) (-8, 0) (-8, 0) (8, 0)

These are all points of the Circle.

Problem-02:

Given the centre point coordinates (10, 10) and radius as 10, generate all the
points to form a circle.

Solution-

Given-
Centre Coordinates of Circle (X0, Y0) = (10, 10)
Radius of Circle = 10

Step-01:

Assign the starting point coordinates (X0, Y0) as-

X0 = 0
Y0 = R = 10

Step-02:

Calculate the value of initial decision parameter P 0 as-

P0 = 3 – 2 x R
P0 = 3 – 2 x 10
P0 = -17

Step-03:

As Pinitial < 0, so case-01 is satisfied.

Thus,
Xk+1 = Xk + 1 = 0 + 1 = 1
Yk+1 = Yk = 10
Pk+1 = Pk + 4 x Xk+1 + 6 = -17 + (4 x 1) + 6 = -7

Step-04:
This step is applicable here as the given centre point coordinates is (10, 10).

Xplot = Xc + X0 = 1 + 10 = 11
Yplot = Yc + Y0 = 10 + 10 = 20

Step-05:

Step-03 and Step-04 are executed similarly until X plot => Yplot as follows-

Pk Pk+1 (Xk+1, Yk+1) (Xplot, Yplot)

(0, 10) (10, 20)

-17 -7 (1, 10) (11, 20)

-7 7 (2, 10) (12, 20)

7 -7 (3, 9) (13, 19)

-7 15 (4, 9) (14, 19)

15 13 (5, 8) (15, 18)

13 19 (6, 7) (16, 17)

Algorithm Terminates
These are all points for Octant-1.
Algorithm calculates all the points of octant-1 and terminates.
Now, the points of octant-2 are obtained using the mirror effect by swapping
X and Y coordinates.

Octant-1 Points Octant-2 Points

(10, 20) (17, 16)

(11, 20) (18, 15)

(12, 20) (19, 14)

(13, 19) (19, 13)

(14, 19) (20, 12)

(15, 18) (20, 11)

(16, 17) (20, 10)

These are all points for Quadrant-1.

Now, the points for rest of the part are generated by following the signs of
other quadrants.
The other points can also be generated by calculating each octant
separately.

Here, all the points have been generated with respect to quadrant-1-

Quadrant-1 (X,Y) Quadrant-2 (-X,Y) Quadrant-3 (-X,-Y) Quadrant-4 (X,-Y)

(10, 20) (10, 20) (10, 0) (10, 0)

(11, 20) (9, 20) (9, 0) (11, 0)

(12, 20) (8, 20) (8, 0) (12, 0)

(13, 19) (7, 19) (7, 1) (13, 1)

(14, 19) (6, 19) (6, 1) (14, 1)

(15, 18) (5, 18) (5, 2) (15, 2)

(16, 17) (4, 17) (4, 3) (16, 3)

(17, 16) (3, 16) (3, 4) (17, 4)

(18, 15) (2, 15) (2, 5) (18, 5)

(19, 14) (1, 14) (1, 6) (19, 6)

(19, 13) (1, 13) (1, 7) (19, 7)

(20, 12) (0, 12) (0, 8) (20, 8)

(20, 11) (0, 11) (0, 9) (20, 9)

(20, 10) (0, 10) (0, 10) (20, 10)

These are all points of the Circle.

Advantages of Bresenham Circle Drawing
Algorithm-

The advantages of Bresenham Circle Drawing Algorithm are-

The entire algorithm is based on the simple equation of circle X 2 + Y2 = R2.
It is easy to implement.

Disadvantages of Bresenham Circle Drawing

Algorithm-

The disadvantages of Bresenham Circle Drawing Algorithm are-

Like Mid Point Algorithm, accuracy of the generating points is an issue in this
algorithm.
This algorithm suffers when used to generate complex and high graphical
images.
There is no significant enhancement with respect to performance.