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I have a B-Spline curve. I have all the knots, and the x,y coordinates of the Control Points.

I need to convert the B-Spline curve into Bezier curves.

My end goal is to be able to draw the shape on an html5 canvas element. The B-Spline is coming from a dxf file which doesn't support Beziers, while a canvas only supports Beziers.

I've found several articles which attempt to explain the process, however they are quite a bit over my head and really seem to be very theory intensive. I really need an example or step by step help.

Here's what I've found: (Explains B-Splines), (Convert B-Splines),

I can share my Nodes or Control Points if that would be useful. If someone would point me to a step-by-step procedure or help me with some psuedo(or actual)code, I would be so grateful.

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1 Answer 1

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What you need is something called "Boehm's algorithm" (after its originator, Wolfgang Boehm). It has a simple geometric interpretation, and drawing a few pictures should make it clear. There is a pretty good explanation (with pictures) in this document.

The algorithm is based on a process called "knot insertion". You keep inserting knots into the b-spline curve until each knot has multiplicity 3. Then, the b-spline control points of this refined curve give you the Bezier control points of its segments.

So, if you're writing code to do this, one approach is to write a knot insertion function first, and then call it repeatedly.

There is knot insertion code here.

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Thanks, yeah I had seen that article. I'm having a hard time making sense of the math and creating javascript from it. I need an example that is less theory and more application. (Or better math skills). – TimSum Jun 18 '13 at 15:13
    
Now that I've told you the name of the algorithm (Boehm or Bohm), I was thinking you could search for code. I assume that your curve is cubic (degree = 3)? Are your knots uniformly spaced? – bubba Jun 18 '13 at 15:44
    
Sorry -- one more question: are there any repetitions in your sequence of knots? – bubba Jun 18 '13 at 15:46
    
I'll continue to search for code. My curve is cubic. Knots are not evenly spaced and there are repetitions. – TimSum Jun 18 '13 at 20:24

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