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Digital Differential Analyzer Line

A
# https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_differential_analyzer_(graphics_algorithm)

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt


def digital_differential_analyzer_line(
    p1: tuple[int, int], p2: tuple[int, int]
) -> list[tuple[int, int]]:
    """
    Digital Differential Analyzer (DDA) Line Drawing Algorithm.

    Draw a straight line between two points by calculating the difference in
    x (dx) and y (dy) coordinates and incrementally stepping through the
    dominant axis while updating the other axis using fractional increments.

    One of the main disadvantages of the DDA algorithm is its reliance on
    floating-point arithmetic, which can introduce rounding errors at each step.
    Because of this, it is generally slower and less accurate than the
    Bresenham line drawing algorithm, which uses only integer arithmetic.

    Despite this, DDA is useful for educational purposes as it is simple
    to understand and demonstrates the basic idea of incremental line generation.

    This algorithm works by calculating the dx (change in x) and dy (change in y) and
    then iteratively steps along the dominant axis, incrementing the other axis by a
    fractional amount (the slope).
    It is notable for its simplicity but also for its main disadvantage:
    * it relies on floating-point arithmetic at every step, which is computationally
      slow.
    * it is generally outperformed by Bresenham's algorithm, which achieves the same
      result using only integer-based math.

    Args:
      - p1: Coordinates of the starting point.
      - p2: Coordinates of the ending point.
    Returns:
      - List of coordinate points that form the line.

    >>> digital_differential_analyzer_line((1, 1), (4, 4))
    [(2, 2), (3, 3), (4, 4)]
    """
    x1, y1 = p1
    x2, y2 = p2
    dx = x2 - x1
    dy = y2 - y1
    steps = max(abs(dx), abs(dy))
    x_increment = dx / float(steps)
    y_increment = dy / float(steps)
    coordinates = []
    x: float = x1
    y: float = y1
    for _ in range(steps):
        x += x_increment
        y += y_increment
        coordinates.append((round(x), round(y)))
    return coordinates


if __name__ == "__main__":
    import doctest

    doctest.testmod()

    x1 = int(input("Enter the x-coordinate of the starting point: "))
    y1 = int(input("Enter the y-coordinate of the starting point: "))
    x2 = int(input("Enter the x-coordinate of the ending point: "))
    y2 = int(input("Enter the y-coordinate of the ending point: "))
    coordinates = digital_differential_analyzer_line((x1, y1), (x2, y2))
    x_points, y_points = zip(*coordinates)
    plt.plot(x_points, y_points, marker="o")
    plt.title("Digital Differential Analyzer Line Drawing Algorithm")
    plt.xlabel("X-axis")
    plt.ylabel("Y-axis")
    plt.grid()
    plt.show()