Skip to main content

Symbolic treatment of geometric degeneracies

  • Computational Geometry
  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
System Modelling and Optimization

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Control and Information Sciences ((LNCIS,volume 113))

Abstract

Many descriptions of algorithms in computational geometry exclude degeneracies by fiat. Practitioners are left to their own devices for dealing with degeneracies when implementing such algorithms. Since degeneracies tend to be numerous and hard to enumerate exhaustively, this is often a reason for not implementing theoretical algorithms. This paper proposes a powerful symbolic scheme for treating degeneracies. Our method is simple to use, and is applicable for a wide variety of problems in computational geometry (in particular, whenever random perturbations are applicable). Our method is deterministic but is as efficient as probabilistic schemes. Illustrations, limitations and wider issues are discussed.

Supported in part by NSF grants #DCR-84-01898 and #DCR-84-01633.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. A.V. Aho, K. Stiglitz, and J.D. Ullman. Evaluating polynomials at fixed sets of points. SIAM J. Computing, 4(4):533–539, 1975.

    Google Scholar 

  2. A. Charnes. Optimality and degeneracy in linear programming. Econometrica, 20(2):160–170, 1952.

    Google Scholar 

  3. V. Chvátal. Linear Programming. W. H. Frecman and Company, 1983.

    Google Scholar 

  4. James W. Demmel. On condition numbers and the distance to the nearest ill-posed problem. Technical Report 293, Dept. of Computer Science, Courant Institute, NYU, April, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  5. James W. Demmel. The probability that a numerical analysis problem is difficult. Technical Report 294, Dept. of Computer Science, Courant Institute, NYU, April, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  6. T. Dubé, B. Mishra, and C. K. Yap. Admissible orderings and bounds for Gröbner bases normal form algorithm. Report 88, NYU-Courant Robotics Lab., 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  7. H. Edelsbrunner. Edge-skeletons in arrangements with applications. Algorithmica, 1:93–110, 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  8. H. Edelsbrunner and Ernst Peter Mücke. Simulation of simplicity: a technique to cope with degenerate cases in geometric algorithms. June 1987. Manuscript.

    Google Scholar 

  9. H. Edelsbrunner and R. Waupotitsch. Computing a ham-sandwich cut in two dimensions. J. Symbolic Computation, 171–178, 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Herbert Edelsbrunner. Algorithms in Combinatorial Geometry. Springer-Verlag, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  11. D. G. Freudenstein and J. R. Kender. What is a “degenerate” view? Manuscript, June 30-July 4, 1986. Workshop on Geometric Reasoning.

    Google Scholar 

  12. D. H. Greene and F. F. Yao. Finite-resolution computational geometry. In 27th FOCS, pages 143–152, 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Masao Iri. Simultaneous computation of functions, partial derivatives and estimates of rounding errors — complexity and practicality. Japan J. of Applied Math., 1(2):171–178, 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Masao Iri and Koichi Kubota. Methods of fast automatic differentiation and applications. Research Memorandum RM1 87-02, Dept. of Math. Eng. and Instrumentation Physics, University of Tokyo, Japan, 1987. (extended English translation in Proceed., 7th Mathematical Programming Symp., Nagoya, Japan, November 6–7, 1986).

    Google Scholar 

  15. V. J. Milenkovic. Verifiable implementation of geometric algorithms using finite precision arithmetic. Manuscript, June 30-July 4, 1986. Workshop on Geometric Reasoning.

    Google Scholar 

  16. B. Mishra and C. K. Yap. Notes on Gröbner bases. Report 87, NYU-Courant Robotics Lab., 1986. To appear, special issue of J. of Information Sciences.

    Google Scholar 

  17. C. Ó'Dúnlaing and C.K. Yap. A ‘retraction’ method for planning the motion of a disc. J. Algorithms, 6:104–111, 1985.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Nicholas Pippenger. On the evaluation of powers and monomials. SIAM J. Computing, 9(2):230–250, 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Tim Poston and Ian Stewart. Catastrophe Theory and its Applications. Pitman, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Jacob T. Schwartz and Micha Sharir. On the piano movers' problem: H. General techniques for computing topological properties of real algebraic manifolds. Advances in Appl. Math., 4:298–351, 1983.

    Google Scholar 

  21. B.L. van der Waerden. Algebra. Volume 1 & 2, Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1970.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Andrew Chi-chih Yao. On the evaluation of powers. SIAM J. Computing, 5(1):100–103, 1976.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Masao Iri Keiji Yajima

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1988 International Federation for Information Processing

About this paper

Cite this paper

Yap, CK. (1988). Symbolic treatment of geometric degeneracies. In: Iri, M., Yajima, K. (eds) System Modelling and Optimization. Lecture Notes in Control and Information Sciences, vol 113. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0042803

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0042803

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-19238-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-39164-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics