Re: basic shapes - arc not available?

The SVG working group decided to have only a very few common basic shapes
(e.g., full circles and full ellipses) and arcs did not make the cut,
partly because they require more parameters, partly because there is an arc
capability within the 'path' element syntax, but mostly because all of the
decision-making about basic shapes was pretty arbitrary. Everyone has their
opinion about what belongs and what doesn't, so there is no way to please
everyone. At this point, it seems unlikely that the SVG working group will
want to reopen the basic shapes debate.

Have you looked at the arc capability in the 'path' element? It is quite
obscure and definitely needs better explanation and accompanying drawings.
Such explanations and drawings will be available by the time SVG goes to
Proposed Recommendation.

Jon Ferraiolo
SVG Editor
Adobe System Incorporated


At 04:54 PM 9/6/99 -0700, rajeev wrote:
>Along with rectangles and ellipses, arcs are a very common basic
>shape. The Win32 API, Xlib, PostScript etc all allow you to easily
>draw arcs.
>
>If the SVG file is machine-generated then the arc can be approximated
>using bezier curves.
>
>But if you are hand-coding an SVG file then unless you are a math
>whiz, it is nearly impossible to figure out what bezier curve 
>coordinates to use to approximate the arc.
>
>Since arcs are so common, it ought to made available as one of the 
>basic shapes.
>
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Received on Monday, 6 September 1999 20:17:32 UTC