How to use atan2() in combination with other Radian angle systems

Question

I am struggling with this in JavaScript, but this problem applies to many other languages/environments as well.

I want to have one object rotating towards the position o

Answer 1

Just use the condition

 var radians = Math.atan2(e.y - cy, e.x - cx);
 if(radians < 0 ) {radians += 2*Math.PI;}

var canvas = document.getElementById('canvas');
var ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");
canvas.onmousedown = function(e){
var rect = canvas.getBoundingClientRect();
var cx = rect.left + rect.width / 2, cy = rect.top + rect.height / 2;
var radians = Math.atan2(e.y - cy, e.x - cx);
if(radians < 0 ) {radians += 2*Math.PI;}
ctx.moveTo(cx,cy);
ctx.lineTo(cx + 100 * Math.cos(radians), cy + 100* Math.sin(radians));
ctx.stroke();
};

<canvas id="canvas" width="200px" height="200px" style="background-color: gold;"></canvas>

Answer 2

If your result is between 0 and Pi, then the result is pretty straight-forward. If your result is between -Pi and 0, then add 2*Pi to your result, this way you will have your result in the interval of 0, 2*Pi.

Of course, it would be nice if you would implement a separate function for this type of conversion, to not duplicate your code every now and then.

Answer 3

The values are the same in both cases, modulo 2*PI, and with an adjustment for the different sign and offset convention. Pseudo-code:

theta = 0.5*M_PI - atan2(y, x); // adjust for required sign/offset
theta = fmod(theta, 2.0*M_PI);  // make result modulo 2*PI

Answer 4

If you want the angle to increase clockwise from 0 on the y axis, calculate the angle as atan2(x,y). This however give negative angles for x<0, so you should add 2*pi in this case.