Geometric primitive
basic shapes represented in vector graphics
In vector computer graphics, CAD systems, and geographic information systems, a geometric primitive (or prim) is the simplest (i.e. 'atomic' or irreducible) geometric shape that the system can handle (draw, store). Sometimes the subroutines that draw the corresponding objects are called "geometric primitives" as well. The most "primitive" primitives are point and straight line segments, which were all that early vector graphics systems had.
In constructive solid geometry, primitives are simple geometric shapes such as a cube, cylinder, sphere, cone, pyramid, torus.
Modern 2D computer graphics systems may operate with primitives which are curves (segments of straight lines, circles and more complicated curves), as well as shapes (boxes, arbitrary polygons, circles).
A common set of two-dimensional primitives includes lines, points, and polygons, although some people prefer to consider triangles primitives, because every polygon can be constructed from triangles (polygon triangulation). All other graphic elements are built up from these primitives. In three dimensions, triangles or polygons positioned in three-dimensional space can be used as primitives to model more complex 3D forms. In some cases, curves (such as Bézier curves, circles, etc.) may be considered primitives; in other cases, curves are complex forms created from many straight, primitive shapes.
“Geometric primitive” enters the record as basic shapes represented in vector graphics. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Geometric, primitive and basic can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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This entry incorporates text from “Geometric primitive” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.