.TH LIBPATH 3 "01 APRIL 1997"
.SH NAME
\fBlibpathplan\fR \- finds and smooths shortest paths
.SH SYNOPSIS
.ta .75i 1.5i 2.25i 3i 3.75i 4.5i 5.25i 6i
.PP
.nf
\f5
#include <graphviz/pathplan.h>

typedef struct Pxy_t {
    double x, y;
} Pxy_t;

typedef struct Pxy_t Ppoint_t;
typedef struct Pxy_t Pvector_t;

typedef struct Ppoly_t {
    Ppoint_t *ps;
    int pn;
} Ppoly_t;

typedef Ppoly_t Ppolyline_t;

typedef struct Pedge_t {
    Ppoint_t a, b;
} Pedge_t;

typedef struct vconfig_s vconfig_t;

#define POLYID_NONE	
#define POLYID_UNKNOWN

int Pshortestpath(Ppoly_t *boundary, Ppoint_t endpoints[2], Ppolyline_t *output_route);

vconfig_t *Pobsopen(Ppoly_t **obstacles, int n_obstacles);
int Pobspath(vconfig_t *config, Ppoint_t p0, int poly0, Ppoint_t p1, int poly1, Ppolyline_t *output_route);
void Pobsclose(vconfig_t *config);

int Proutespline (Pedge_t *barriers, int n_barriers, Ppolyline_t input_route, Pvector_t endpoint_slopes[2],
	Ppolyline_t *output_route);

int Ppolybarriers(Ppoly_t **polys, int n_polys, Pedge_t **barriers, int *n_barriers);
\fP
.fi
.SH DESCRIPTION
\fBlibpathplan\fR provides functions for creating spline paths in the plane that
are constrained by a polygonal boundary or obstacles to avoid.
All polygons must be simple, but need not be convex.
.P
.SS "   int Pshortestpath(Ppoly_t *boundary, Ppoint_t endpoints[2], Ppolyline_t *output_route);"
The function \fIPshortestpath\fP 
finds a shortest path between two points in a simple polygon.
The polygon is specified by a list of its vertices, 
in either clockwise or counterclockwise order.
You pass endpoints interior to the polygon boundary.
A shortest path connecting the points that remains in the polygon
is returned in \fIoutput_route\fP.  If either endpoint does not lie in
the polygon, -1 is returned; otherwise, 0 is returned on success.
The array of points in \fIoutput_route\fP is static to the library. It should
not be freed, and should be used before another call to \fIPshortestpath\fP.
.P
.SS "    vconfig_t *Pobsopen(Ppoly_t **obstacles, int n_obstacles);"
.SS "    Pobspath(vconfig_t *config, Ppoint_t p0, int poly0, Ppoint_t p1, int poly1, Ppolyline_t *output_route);"
.SS "    void Pobsclose(vconfig_t *config);"
.P
These functions find a shortest path between two points in the plane
that contains polygonal obstacles (holes).
\fIPobsopen\fP creates a configuration (an opaque struct of type
\f5vconfig_t\fP) on a set of obstacles. 
The \fIn_obstacles\fP obstacles are given in the array \fIobstacles\fP; 
the points of each polygon should be in clockwise order.
The function \fIPobsclose\fP frees the data allocated in \fIPobsopen\fP.
.P
\f5Pobspath\fP finds
a shortest path between the endpoints that remains outside the
obstacles.  If the endpoints are known to lie inside obstacles,
\f5poly0\fP or \f5poly1\fP should be set to the index in the
\f5obstacles\fP array.  If an endpoint is definitely not inside
an obstacle, then \f5POLYID_NONE\fP should be passed.  If the
caller has not checked, then \f5POLYID_UNKNOWN\fP should be passed,
and the path library will perform the test. The resulting shortest path
is returned in \fIoutput_route\fP. Note that this function does not provide
for a boundary polygon. The array of points stored in \fIoutput_route\fP are
allocated by the library, but should be freed by the user.
.P
.SS "   int Proutespline (Pedge_t *barriers, int n_barriers, Ppolyline_t input_route, Pvector_t endpoint_slopes[2], Ppolyline_t *output_route);"
This function fits a cubic B-spline curve to a polyline path. 
The curve is constructed to avoid a set of \fIn_barriers\fP barrier line segments 
specified in the array \fIbarriers\fP. If you start with polygonal obstacles, you
can supply each polygon's edges as part of the barrier list.
The polyline \f5input_route\fP provides a template for the final path; it
is usually the \f5output_route\fP of one of the shortest path
finders, but it can be any simple path that doesn't cross
any barrier segment.  The input also allows the specification of desired 
slopes at the endpoints via \fIendpoint_slopes\fP. These are specified as vectors.
For example, to have an angle of \fIT\fP at an endpoing, one could use 
\fI(cos(T),sin(T))\fP.
A vector (0,0) means unconstrained slope.  
The output is returned in \fIoutput_route\fP and consists of the control points
of the B-spline. The function return 0 on success; a return value of -1 indicates
failure.
The array of points in \fIoutput_route\fP is static to the library. It should
not be freed, and should be used before another call to \fIProutespline\fP.
.P
.SS "   int Ppolybarriers(Ppoly_t **polys, int n_polys, Pedge_t **barriers, int *n_barriers);"
This is a utility function that converts an input list of polygons
into an output list of barrier segments.
The array of points in \fIbarriers\fP is static to the library. It should
not be freed, and should be used before another call to \fIPpolybarriers\fP.
The function returns 1 on success.
.SH BUGS
The function \fIProutespline\fP does not guarantee that it will preserve the
topology of the input path as regards the boundaries. For example, if
some of the segments correspond to a small polygon, it may be possible that the
final path has flipped over the obstacle.
.SH AUTHORS
David Dobkin (dpd@cs.princeton.edu),
Eleftherios Koutsofios (ek@research.att.com),
Emden Gansner (erg@research.att.com).