# Implementation of DDA Line Algorithm

I have tested all the cases of how a line could be

1. vertically
2. horizontally
3. has a slope that's positive or less than 1

The function works, but I would like it reviewed, such as if there are overflows, etc.

// Draw line using DDA Algorithm
void Graphics::DrawLine( int x1, int y1, int x2, int y2, Color&color )
{

float xdiff = x1-x2;
float ydiff = y1-y2;
int slope  = 1;
if ( y1  == y2  )
{
slope = 0;
}
else if (  x1 == x2 )
{
slope = 2; // vertical lines have no slopes...
}
else
{
slope = (int)xdiff/ydiff;
}

if ( slope <= 1 )
{
int startx = 0;
int endx   = 0;
if ( x1 > x2 )
{
startx = x2;
endx   = x1;
}
else
{
startx = x1;
endx   = x2;
}

float y = y1; // initial value
for(int x = startx; x <= endx; x++)
{
y += slope;
DrawPixel(x, (int)abs(y), color);
}
}

else if ( slope > 1 )
{
float x = x1; // initial value
for(int y = y1;y <= y2; y++)
{
x += 1/slope;
DrawPixel((int)x, y, color);
}

}

}

• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bresenham's_line_algorithm – Snowbody Jul 16 '14 at 15:15
• Question is almost year old. Working code for him (with flaws). I do not see any reason why we should close this question now as answer is also provided and accepted. – chillworld Jul 16 '14 at 20:50

Here are some flaws in the current algorithm.

• xdiff will have a roundoff error if x1-x2 is large in magnitude, likewise for the y variables.
• slope is set to 1 for no reason, and then immediately reinitialized to something else.
• slope is restricted to an integer, when most slopes will not be integral.
• It's impossible to justify setting the slope of a vertical line to 2. There are slopes greater than 2 that are not vertical lines.
• In the line slope = (int)xdiff/ydiff;, casting is higher precedence than division, so this will first cast xdiff to an int, overflowing if xdiff > MAXINT, throwing away the fractional part if there is one, then dividing this int by ydiff. The odds of this being the actual slope are very small.
• startx and endx are initialized to 0 for no reason, then immediately reinitialized to somethiing else.
• Roundoff errors will accumulate as you repeatedly add slope to y (or 1/slope to x).
• What's the justification for the abs(y)? If y changes sign in the range, this will cause a kink in the line. Similarly for x.

This makes no sense. The slope must be an int such as 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, … but a vertical line is treated as a line of slope 2? How is that accurate at all?

• How would I solve it ? Vertical lines have no slope at all. – Ahmed Saleh Oct 13 '13 at 10:04
• DDA. Make two cases. If abs(ydiff) <= abs(xdiff), then proceed as usual with slope = ydiff / xdiff and iterate along the x-axis pixels, plotting y. Otherwise, reverse the roles of the x and y axes — compute an inverseSlope = xdiff / ydiff and iterate along the y-axis pixels, plotting x. – 200_success Oct 13 '13 at 10:22
• I have the book Fundamental of computer graphics, by peter shirely, but it doesn't really explain the algorithms really well, can you suggest a better reference for software rasterizations ? – Ahmed Saleh Oct 13 '13 at 10:49
• Go from a slope to a dx and a dy, with either the dx or dy being 1. – Snowbody Jul 17 '14 at 15:39