enkeltsegment

Enkeltsegment is a term used in geometry and related fields to denote a single straight line segment defined by two endpoints in a Euclidean space. It is the simplest unit of a polyline or polygon boundary and has no curvature. An enkeltsegment contains infinitely many points along the straight line between its endpoints, and its length is the Euclidean distance between those endpoints.

In Cartesian coordinates an enkeltsegment is described by two endpoints, for example (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) in two dimensions, or (x1, y1, z1) and (x2, y2, z2) in three dimensions. A common parametric form is P(t) = (1 − t)A + tB for t in [0, 1], where A and B are the endpoints. The segment is undirected in pure geometry, though it can be oriented for algorithmic purposes.

Relation to other concepts: An enkeltsegment is a building block of polylines and polygons. A polyline consists of a sequence of enkeltsegment joined at shared endpoints; a closed polyline forms a polygon if the endpoints connect to a closed loop. In many algorithms, a set of enkeltsegment objects is used to approximate curves or to represent networks and boundaries.

Applications: Enkeltsegment are used in measuring straight-line distances, rendering line geometries in computer graphics, defining road or utility segments in GIS and CAD systems, and in geometric algorithms for clipping, intersection tests, and collision detection.

See also: line segment, polyline, curve, GIS, CAD. Etymology: enkelt means simple or single in Swedish; segment is borrowed from geometry.