Logo

Pointing and Positioning Technique Computer Graphics

Pointing and Positioning Technique: The pointing and positioning are interactions used in computer graphics. A pointing device is also called a Pointing tool. A pointing tool is a hardware component, used to shift the cursor in a computer program or a graphical user interface (GUI) operating system. The standard features of the mouse are click, point, drag, and drop.

According to Fitts’s theorem, we can use the pointing devices to estimate the speed by which we can point at a higher speed. The positioning technique is used to move the object from one position to another position.

There are following pointing and positioning devices given below:

  • Mouse
  •  Light Pen
  • Joystick
  • Graphics Tablet
  • Pointing Stick

Mouse

A mouse is a lightweight, small device used to control the movement of the cursor on a computer screen. Usually, the mouse moves on a flat surface. A mouse contains two or three buttons. Every button performs a different task. The mouse can be considered as a positioning and pointing device.

Pointing and Positioning Technique

Functions of Mouse

There are following functions of a mouse:

  • Clicking
  • Right-clicking
  • Dragging
  • Scrolling
  • Double Clicking

Light Pen

A light pen is a handheld, light-sensitive device. It is like a pen. The light pen connects to the computer by a wire. A light pen contains a device at the tip that emits light. Mostly, light pens are used by graphics designers, engineers, and illustrators. The light pen sends the information to the computer when we touch the pen to the computer screen.

Pointing and Positioning Technique

Joystick

A joystick has two parts a base and a stick. We can move the stick in every direction to shift the object from one position to another position on the computer screen. The joystick is similar to a mouse or trackball. Mostly the joystick is used to play computer games. A joystick has a fast interface and also used in computer-aided design.

Pointing and Positioning Technique

Graphics Tablet

A graphics tablet is also called a digitizer. A graphics tablet contains a flat pad on which we can draw an image or shape with a pen called stylus.  The image gets drawn on the screen as we draw on the flat pad. It is mostly used by graphics designers to produce accurate drawings and pictures.

Pointing and Positioning Technique

Pointing Stick

The pointing device is also known as the Pressure-Sensitive device. It exists between the keys of the keyboard. It is similar to a pencil eraser. The pointing stick works like a mouse. When we touch the finger on the pointing stick, the cursor moves on the computer screen. A pointing stick does not need any extra space like a mouse. It is mostly used in notebooks.

Pointing and Positioning Technique

Rubber band or Elastic Technique

The rubber band technique was introduced by Blaisdell in 1958 and refined by Barron in 1963. It is a positioning method. The rubber band is also named as an elastic band, gum band, or lacky band. It is a loop that is usually used to hold multiple objects together. It is a useful and simple technique for positioning the objects. We can easily draw geometric shapes, i.e., lines, ellipse, circle, and rectangle, etc. on the computer screen by rubber band technique. In this technique, we can perform positioning on the line by positioning the two endpoints. In this, we shift the first point to the last point; the computer draws a line from the first point to cursor point. The technique called rubber band or elastic band because the line stretched among with first point and the cursor.

Pointing and Positioning Technique

Advantages of Rubber Band Technique

  • It is simple and easy to implement the technique.
  • We can draw many geometric shapes by using this technique.

Disadvantages of Rubber Band Technique

  • It is quite expensive.
  • The rubber band technique needs good software and a fast processor.

Dragging

Pointing and Positioning Technique

Dragging is a technique used in interactive image drawing. In this process, we can change the position of an object from one to another place. We can drag the shapes or objects with the cursor.     

Steps to drag an object

Step 1: First, we choose an object.

Step 2: Now, we shift the cursor in the direction where we want to shift the object.

Step 3: Select the object that follows the cursor path.

Dragging the object to different positions is very useful in applications where we want to show the various possible location before choosing the final location.

Pointing and Positioning Technique

Related Topics

Scan Conversion of an Ellipse Computer Graphics

Scan Conversion of an Ellipse: An ellipse can be defined as a closed plane curve, which is a collection of points. It is the cause of the intersection of a...

8 minutes read.

Midpoint Circle Drawing Algorithm in Computer Graphics

The midpoint circle drawing algorithm helps us to calculate the complete perimeter points of a circle for the first octant. We can quickly find and calculate the points of other...

12 minutes read.

Zooming

In computer graphics, the term “Zoom is referred as a function, focuses on a particular portion or part of an image and also enlarging the image’s size for greater details.” In windows...

2 minutes read.

Applications of Computer Graphics

Applications of Computer Graphics Some applications of computer graphics are mentioned below- Graphical User Interface (GUI): It is a way of interacting with a computer using the icon, ...

2 minutes read.

Anti-aliasing in Computer Graphics

Anti-aliasing in Computer Graphics “Anti-aliasing is a method for eliminating the aliasing effect used in computer graphics. In a 2-dimensional object, the ambient occlusion impact is the existence of sharp edges...

7 minutes read.

Homogenous Coordinates in Computer Graphics

Homogenous Coordinates in Computer Graphics The orbit of a point, a line graph or the whole picture on the computer, a point besides the origin, is accomplished by first shifting the...

7 minutes read.

Polygon Clipping in Computer Graphics

“A Polygon can be described as the enclosed collection or group of the lines.” In a polygon, all lines are connected. Lines can be a combination of edges and vertices,...

4 minutes read.

2D Translation

We can move any object from one to another place without changing the shape of the object. For Example- Translation of a Point:If we want to translate a point from P (x0,...

1 minute read.

Transformation

Introduction The term Transformation is generally referred to as converting a graphic into another graphic by applying some rules or algorithms. Sometimes an image or picture can be a combination of lines, rectangle,...

2 minutes read.

3D Shearing

We can denote shearing with ‘SHx,’ ‘SHy,’ and ‘SHz.’ These ‘SHx,’ ‘SHy,’ ‘SHz’ are called “Shearing factor.” The basic difference between 2D and 3D Shearing is that the 3D plane also...

1 minute read.

Scan Conversion in Computer Graphics

“When we represent regular objects in the form of discrete pixels, it is called Scan Conversion.” Every graphics system must transform the primitives into a collection of pixels. The scan conversion is also...

2 minutes read.

History of Computer Graphics

History of Computer Graphics Computer Graphics (CG) was first developed as a visualization tool. Computer graphics were basically introduced for scientists and engineers in government and corporate research centers, i.e., Bell Labs and Boeing...

4 minutes read.

Animation in Computer Graphics

The word Animation is extracted from a Latin language, "Anima," which means "Soul." TheAnimation is a technology that allows any image object, an entity to walk, talk, or do some...

3 minutes read.

3D Rotation

The 3D rotation is different from 2D rotation. In 3D Rotation we also have to define the angle of Rotation with the axis of Rotation. For Example- Let us assume, The initial...

2 minutes read.

Composite Transformation in Computer Graphics

Composite transformation in Computer Graphics It is possible to integrate a range of transformations or series of transformations into some kind of a single one which is known as composition. The...

6 minutes read.

2D Reflection

The Reflection is a mirror image of the original object. In the Reflection process, the size of the object does not change. We can represent Reflection by using four ways- Reflection along...

2 minutes read.

Bresenham’s Circle Drawing Algorithm in Computer Graphics

Bresenham’s algorithm is also used for circle drawing. It is known as Bresenham’s circle drawing algorithm. It helps us to draw a circle. The circle generation is more complicated than...

11 minutes read.

DDA line Drawing Algorithm in Computer Graphics

DDA (Digital Differential Analyzer) Line Drawing Algorithm The Digital Differential Analyzer helps us to interpolate the variables on an interval from one point to another point. We can use the digital Differential Analyzer algorithm...

5 minutes read.

2D Rotation

The Rotation of any object depends upon the two points. Rotation Point: It is also called the Pivot point. Rotation Angle: It is denoted by Theta (). We can rotate an object in...

1 minute read.

Types of Computer Graphics

Types of Computer Graphics The computer graphics contains two types. They are- Raster (Bitmap) graphicsVector graphics Many individuals are likely to consider pictures on computers (or phones, tablets, or some other electronic gadget...

5 minutes read.