CGAL
Encyclopedia
The Computational Geometry Algorithms Library (CGAL) is a software library that aims to provide easy access to efficient and reliable algorithm
Algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...

s in computational geometry
Computational geometry
Computational geometry is a branch of computer science devoted to the study of algorithms which can be stated in terms of geometry. Some purely geometrical problems arise out of the study of computational geometric algorithms, and such problems are also considered to be part of computational...

. While primarily written in C++
C++
C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...

, Python
Python (programming language)
Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive...

 and Scilab
Scilab
Scilab is an open source, cross-platform numerical computational package and a high-level, numerically oriented programming language. Itcan be used for signal processing, statistical analysis, image enhancement, fluid dynamics simulations, numerical optimization, and modeling and simulation of...

 bindings are also available.

The software is available under dual licensing scheme. When used for other open source software, it is available under open source licenses (LGPL or QPL depending on the component). In other cases commercial license may be purchased, under different options for academic/research and industrial customers.

History

The CGAL project was founded in 1996, as a consortium of eight research institutions in Europe and Israel:
Utrecht University
Utrecht University
Utrecht University is a university in Utrecht, Netherlands. It is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands and one of the largest in Europe. Established March 26, 1636, it had an enrollment of 29,082 students in 2008, and employed 8,614 faculty and staff, 570 of which are full professors....

, ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....

, Free University of Berlin
Free University of Berlin
Freie Universität Berlin is one of the leading and most prestigious research universities in Germany and continental Europe. It distinguishes itself through its modern and international character. It is the largest of the four universities in Berlin. Research at the university is focused on the...

, INRIA Sophia Antipolis
Sophia Antipolis
Sophia Antipolis is a technology park northwest of Antibes and southwest of Nice, France. Much of the park falls within the commune of Valbonne. Created in 1970-84, it houses primarily companies in the fields of computing, electronics, pharmacology and biotechnology. Several institutions of higher...

, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Max Planck Institute for Informatics Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....

, Johannes Kepler University Linz, and Tel-Aviv University. The original funding for the project came from the ESPRIT project of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

. Originally, its licensing terms allowed its software to be used freely for academic purposes, with commercial licenses available for other uses. The current licensing scheme was introduced in 2003. it is managed by a fourteen-member editorial board, with an additional 30 developers and reviewers.

The project started in 1996 as the pooling of the previous efforts of several project participants:PlaGeo and SpaGeo from Utrecht University
Utrecht University
Utrecht University is a university in Utrecht, Netherlands. It is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands and one of the largest in Europe. Established March 26, 1636, it had an enrollment of 29,082 students in 2008, and employed 8,614 faculty and staff, 570 of which are full professors....

, LEDA of the Max-Planck-Institute for Informatics and C++GAL of INRIA Sophia-Antipolis. The LEDA library encompasses a broader range of algorithms. A comparison of the two libraries is provided by Kettner and Näher. Three CGAL User workshops held in 2002, 2004, and 2008 highlighted research results related to CGAL, and many additional papers related to CGAL have appeared in other conferences, workshops, and journals.

Platforms

The library is supported on a number of platforms.
  • MS Windows (GNU g++, MS Visual C++, Intel C++)
  • GNU g++ (Solaris, Linux
    Linux
    Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...

    , Mac OS
    Mac OS
    Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...

    )


The CGAL library depends on the Boost library
Boost library
Boost is a set of free software libraries that extend the functionality of C++.-Overview:Most of the Boost libraries are licensed under the Boost Software License, designed to allow Boost to be used with both free and proprietary software projects...

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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