How can I determine whether a 2D Point is within a Polygon?

Question

I\'m trying to create a fast 2D point inside polygon algorithm, for use in hit-testing (e.g. Polygon.contains(p:Point)). Suggestions for effective tech

Answer 1

Here is a JavaScript variant of the answer by M. Katz based on Nirg's approach:

function pointIsInPoly(p, polygon) {
    var isInside = false;
    var minX = polygon[0].x, maxX = polygon[0].x;
    var minY = polygon[0].y, maxY = polygon[0].y;
    for (var n = 1; n < polygon.length; n++) {
        var q = polygon[n];
        minX = Math.min(q.x, minX);
        maxX = Math.max(q.x, maxX);
        minY = Math.min(q.y, minY);
        maxY = Math.max(q.y, maxY);
    }

    if (p.x < minX || p.x > maxX || p.y < minY || p.y > maxY) {
        return false;
    }

    var i = 0, j = polygon.length - 1;
    for (i, j; i < polygon.length; j = i++) {
        if ( (polygon[i].y > p.y) != (polygon[j].y > p.y) &&
                p.x < (polygon[j].x - polygon[i].x) * (p.y - polygon[i].y) / (polygon[j].y - polygon[i].y) + polygon[i].x ) {
            isInside = !isInside;
        }
    }

    return isInside;
}