spacingalong

Spacingalong refers to the practice of distributing samples, markers, or objects at regular intervals along a path, curve, or polyline. The spacing is typically defined in terms of arc length, so the distance measured along the curve between consecutive placements remains constant rather than using straight-line projections.

In practice, spacingalong can be implemented in different contexts. For a polyline, one computes cumulative segment lengths and places items every L units along the accumulated distance. For smooth curves or splines, arc-length parameterization may be used, or an approximate method is applied by sampling the curve and locating points at regular arc-length intervals through iterative search or reparameterization. The goal is to achieve uniform distribution along the true length of the path, not merely along a straight line between endpoints.

Common applications include labeling roads or rivers in geographic information systems, distributing decorative elements along a design path, placing waypoints for animation or robotics, and generating evenly spaced samples for analysis or rendering. Spacingalong is often complemented by considerations of endpoints, closed versus open curves, curvature, and numerical precision, since curved sections can affect how evenly space is perceived.

Related concepts include equal arc-length sampling, arc-length parameterization, and path resampling. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with spacing along a path, along-curve spacing, or equal-distance distribution, depending on the software or discipline.