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

Heres a point in polygon test in C that isn't using ray-casting. And it can work for overlapping areas (self intersections), see the use_holes argument.

/* math lib (defined below) */
static float dot_v2v2(const float a[2], const float b[2]);
static float angle_signed_v2v2(const float v1[2], const float v2[2]);
static void copy_v2_v2(float r[2], const float a[2]);

/* intersection function */
bool isect_point_poly_v2(const float pt[2], const float verts[][2], const unsigned int nr,
                         const bool use_holes)
{
    /* we do the angle rule, define that all added angles should be about zero or (2 * PI) */
    float angletot = 0.0;
    float fp1[2], fp2[2];
    unsigned int i;
    const float *p1, *p2;

    p1 = verts[nr - 1];

    /* first vector */
    fp1[0] = p1[0] - pt[0];
    fp1[1] = p1[1] - pt[1];

    for (i = 0; i < nr; i++) {
        p2 = verts[i];

        /* second vector */
        fp2[0] = p2[0] - pt[0];
        fp2[1] = p2[1] - pt[1];

        /* dot and angle and cross */
        angletot += angle_signed_v2v2(fp1, fp2);

        /* circulate */
        copy_v2_v2(fp1, fp2);
        p1 = p2;
    }

    angletot = fabsf(angletot);
    if (use_holes) {
        const float nested = floorf((angletot / (float)(M_PI * 2.0)) + 0.00001f);
        angletot -= nested * (float)(M_PI * 2.0);
        return (angletot > 4.0f) != ((int)nested % 2);
    }
    else {
        return (angletot > 4.0f);
    }
}

/* math lib */

static float dot_v2v2(const float a[2], const float b[2])
{
    return a[0] * b[0] + a[1] * b[1];
}

static float angle_signed_v2v2(const float v1[2], const float v2[2])
{
    const float perp_dot = (v1[1] * v2[0]) - (v1[0] * v2[1]);
    return atan2f(perp_dot, dot_v2v2(v1, v2));
}

static void copy_v2_v2(float r[2], const float a[2])
{
    r[0] = a[0];
    r[1] = a[1];
}

Note: this is one of the less optimal methods since it includes a lot of calls to atan2f, but it may be of interest to developers reading this thread (in my tests its ~23x slower then using the line intersection method).