Clamp (function)
mathematical operation of constraining a value to fall within a given range
In computer science, clamping, or clipping is the process of limiting a value to a range between a minimum and a maximum value. Unlike wrapping, Clamping moves a value to the nearest boundary if it is outside the allowed range.
In Python, clamping can be defined as follows:
This is equivalent to max(minimum, min(x, maximum)) for languages that support the functions min and max.
Uses
One of the many uses of clamping in computer graphics is the placing of a detail inside a polygon—for example, a bullet hole on a wall. It can also be used with wrapping to create a variety of effects.
Implementations
Several programming languages and libraries provide functions for fast and vectorized clamping. In Python, the pandas library offers the Series.clip and DataFrame.clip methods. The NumPy library offers the clip function. In the Wolfram Language, it is implemented as Clip[x, {minimum, maximum}].
In OpenGL, the glClearColor function takes four GLfloat values which are then clamped to the range
[
0
,
1
]
{\displaystyle [0,1]}
.
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