Plane Geometry in Java (II)

See also Part I and Part III.

We have our vectors ready. Now, points are entirely analogous, insofar they are value objects:

final class Pt {
  public final double x;
  public final double y;

  public Pt(double x, double y)    { this.x = x; this.y = y; }

  public static final Pt ORIGIN = new Pt(0, 0);

  public boolean equals(Object o) {
    if (o == null || !(o instanceof Pt)) return false;
    else if (this == o) return true;
    final Pt that = (Pt) o;
    return this.x == that.x && this.y == that.y;
  }

  public int hashCode() {
    return (int) ((Double.doubleToLongBits(x) >> 32) & 0xffffffffL)
         ^ (int) ((Double.doubleToLongBits(y) >> 32) & 0xffffffffL);
  }

  public String toString() {
    return String.format("(%g , %g)", x, y);
  }

There is a distinguished point, the origin.

It is important to understand the need to duplicate code that is essentially the same as in Vec; in other words, it is not appropriate to refactor common code in classes Vec and Pt, for two reasons:

1. First, a vector is not a point, nor vice-versa. There is not even a meaningful common supertype between them. The whole point of using the typed algebra is to manipulate formulas with the added security afforded by the typing rules
2. Second, even if a private base class could abstract some code, the bulk of the code needed to correctly implement a base type is in equals. This method needs to cast to the static class of the object in order for the comparison to be meaningful (else it would be comparing a derived class to the base class), so the duplicate equals are essential anyway

The Algebra has two "constructors" linking points and vectors: the point constructor and the vector constructor. Both operate on points, so naturally they are members of the Pt class. Also, as Axiom 1 states, both operations are some kind of additive inverses one of the other:

  public Pt at(Vec v)              { return new  Pt(x + v.i, y + v.j); }
  public Vec to(Pt p)              { return new Vec(p.x - x, p.y - y); }

A natural operation on points is to find the distance between them. It is, quite simply, p.to(q).norm(). However for convenience I include it directly in Pt:

  public double dist(Pt p)         { return to(p).norm(); }

Linear interpolation, or lerp mixes two points to give a third:

  public Pt lerp(Pt p, double k)   { return at(to(p).scale(k)); }

In particular, the midpoint between two given points is:

  public Pt mid(Pt p)              { return lerp(p, 0.5); }

The set of all linear interpolants is obviously a line. The simplest way to determine one is however to give a point through which it passes and the direction it takes:

  public Line towards(Vec v)       { return new Line(this, v); }
  public Line through(Pt p)        { return new Line(this, to(p)); }
}

I will show next how to use lines.