Introduction to CGAL

Computational geometry is the art of designing efficient algorithms for answering geometric questions. Traditionally, the field has focused on the efficiency of algorithms, but 1996 represented a departure for the field from a purely theoretical to also a practical one [75]. The reasoning was that geometric algorithms are intricate, and so for its many results to see their way into practice, the algorithms’ designers themselves should also implement accompanying systems. But most algorithms need the same software foundation layer, benefit from the same optimizations, and use Euclidean geometry. This suggested that a single kernel [36, 48] could act as a collection of geometric classes on which all algorithms would be built. At the time of this writing, the Computational Geometry Algorithms Library (CGAL) remains an active, and widely adopted, software project.