title: Geometry: Concepts and Applications, StudentWorks CD-ROM (GEOMETRY: CONCEPTS & APPLIC)
author: McGraw-Hill Education
description: McGraw-Hill authors represent the leading experts in their fields and are dedicated to improving the lives, careers, and interests of readers worldwide
zlib_text: Computational Geometry: Methods and Applications
  
  Jianer Chen
  
  Computer Science Department
  
  Texas A&M University
  
  February 19, 1996
  
  Chapter
  
  1
  
   **Introduction**
  
  Geometric objects such as points, lines, and polygons are the basis of a broad
  variety of important applications and give rise to an interesting set of
  problems and algorithms. The name geometry reminds us of its earliest use: for
  the measurement of land and materials. Today, computers are being used more
  and more to solve larger-scale geometric problems. Over the past two decades,
  a set of tools and techniques has been developed that takes advantage of the
  structure provided by geometry. This discipline is known as Computational
  Geometry.
  
  The discipline was named and largely started around 1975 by Shamos, whose
  Ph.D. thesis attracted considerable attention. After a decade of development
  the eld came into its own in 1985, when three components of any healthy
  discipline were realized: a textbook, a conference, and a journal.