answersLogoWhite

0

We assume that the ambient space is equipped with the standard Cartesian coordinate system and specify points by their Cartesian coordinates.

The Cartesian coordinates of a point in the plane are a pair (x,y).

The homogeneous coordinates of a point in the plane are a triple (x,y,w) with w!=0. The Cartesian coordinates of a point with homogeneous coordinates (x,y,w) are (x/w,y/w).

Remark: We notice that the homogeneous coordinates of a point are not unique. Two triples that are multiples of each other specify the same point.

The Cartesian coordinates of a point are of type double in the floating point kernel and of type rational in the rational kernel. The homogeneous coordinates of a point in the rational kernel are of type integer. Points in the floating point kernel are stored by their Cartesian coordinates.

For points in the rational kernel it is more efficient to store them by their homogeneous coordinates, i.e., to use the same denominator for x- and y-coordinate.

For compatibility also points in the floating point kernel have homogeneous coordinates (x,y,1.0). These homogeneous coordinates are of type double.

User Avatar

Wiki User

12y ago

Still curious? Ask our experts.

Chat with our AI personalities

ReneRene
Change my mind. I dare you.
Chat with Rene
RafaRafa
There's no fun in playing it safe. Why not try something a little unhinged?
Chat with Rafa
CoachCoach
Success isn't just about winning—it's about vision, patience, and playing the long game.
Chat with Coach

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: How homogenous co-ordinate system differ from cartesian system?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp