I have a sequential set of points in X, Y, and I would like to “trace” them into a set of Bezier curves. Can any open source bitmap be used for an algorithm or a vector trace library?
It depends on what you want to accomplish. If you want to see the “best fit” curve, or at least an approximation, you should use b_spline. B_spline will place itself “inside” the points that it defines. To pass the points under consideration, I usually used the Kathmulla-Roma spline, which, when the given points 1,2,3 pass through point 2 with a slope equal to the slope between points 1 and 3.
Sample code: http://willperone.net/Code/spline.php
Algorithm Explanation: http://steve.hollasch.net/cgindex/curves/catmull-rom.html
You want to use b-spline piecewise curves, not beziers, if you want the curve to pass through an existing set of points.
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This is an older question, but I found it because I need an algorithm to autoroute coordinates when it is drawn, and found this SO mail via Google. It seems that no one mentioned Potrace in this specific question (a small wikipedia article on it here ), which literally is what the original question asked, is open source with several ports, as well as documents that freely describe its function .