## Rational Computational Geometry in Python

In the previous article, we looked at how a standard technique for determining the collinearity of points, based on computing the sign of the area of the triangle formed by two points on the line and a third query point. We discovered, that when used with Python's float type [1] the routine was unreliable in a region close to the line. This shortcoming has nothing to do with Python specifically and everything to do with the finite precision of the float number type. This time, we'll examine the behaviour of the algorithm more systematically using the following program:

def sign(x):
"""Determine the sign of x.

Returns:
-1 if x is negative, +1 if x is positive or 0 if x is zero.
"""
return (x > 0) - (x < 0)

def orientation(p, q, r):
"""Determine the orientation of three points in the plane.

Args:
p, q, r: Two-tuples representing coordinate pairs of three points.

Returns:
-1 if p, q, r is a turn to the right, +1 if p, q, r is a turn to the
left, otherwise 0 if p, q, and r are collinear.
"""
d = (q&#91;0&#93; - p&#91;0&#93;) * (r&#91;1&#93; - p&#91;1&#93;) - (q&#91;1&#93; - p&#91;1&#93;) * (r&#91;0&#93; - p&#91;0&#93;)
return sign(d)

def main():
"""
Test whether points immediately above and below the point (0.5, 0.5)
lie above, on, or below the line through (12.0, 12.0) and (24.0, 24.0).
"""
px = 0.5

pys = 0.49999999999999,
0.49999999999999006,
0.4999999999999901,
0.4999999999999902,
0.49999999999999023,
0.4999999999999903,
0.49999999999999034,
0.4999999999999904,
0.49999999999999045,
0.4999999999999905,
0.49999999999999056,
0.4999999999999906,
0.4999999999999907,
0.49999999999999073,
0.4999999999999908,
0.49999999999999084,
0.4999999999999909,
0.49999999999999095,
0.499999999999991,
0.49999999999999106,
0.4999999999999911,
0.4999999999999912,
0.49999999999999123,
0.4999999999999913,
0.49999999999999134,
0.4999999999999914,
0.49999999999999145,
0.4999999999999915,
0.49999999999999156,
0.4999999999999916,
0.4999999999999917,
0.49999999999999173,
0.4999999999999918,
0.49999999999999184,
0.4999999999999919,
0.49999999999999195,
0.499999999999992,
0.49999999999999206,
0.4999999999999921,
0.4999999999999922,
0.49999999999999223,
0.4999999999999923,
0.49999999999999234,
0.4999999999999924,
0.49999999999999245,
0.4999999999999925,
0.49999999999999256,
0.4999999999999926,
0.4999999999999927,
0.49999999999999273,
0.4999999999999928,
0.49999999999999284,
0.4999999999999929,
0.49999999999999295,
0.499999999999993,
0.49999999999999306,
0.4999999999999931,
0.49999999999999317,
0.4999999999999932,
0.4999999999999933,
0.49999999999999334,
0.4999999999999934,
0.49999999999999345,
0.4999999999999935,
0.49999999999999356,
0.4999999999999936,
0.49999999999999367,
0.4999999999999937,
0.4999999999999938,
0.49999999999999384,
0.4999999999999939,
0.49999999999999395,
0.499999999999994,
0.49999999999999406,
0.4999999999999941,
0.49999999999999417,
0.4999999999999942,
0.4999999999999943,
0.49999999999999434,
0.4999999999999944,
0.49999999999999445,
0.4999999999999945,
0.49999999999999456,
0.4999999999999946,
0.49999999999999467,
0.4999999999999947,
0.4999999999999948,
0.49999999999999484,
0.4999999999999949,
0.49999999999999495,
0.499999999999995,
0.49999999999999506,
0.4999999999999951,
0.49999999999999517,
0.4999999999999952,
0.4999999999999953,
0.49999999999999534,
0.4999999999999954,
0.49999999999999545,
0.4999999999999955,
0.49999999999999556,
0.4999999999999956,
0.49999999999999567,
0.4999999999999957,
0.4999999999999958,
0.49999999999999584,
0.4999999999999959,
0.49999999999999595,
0.499999999999996,
0.49999999999999606,
0.4999999999999961,
0.49999999999999617,
0.4999999999999962,
0.4999999999999963,
0.49999999999999634,
0.4999999999999964,
0.49999999999999645,
0.4999999999999965,
0.49999999999999656,
0.4999999999999966,
0.49999999999999667,
0.4999999999999967,
0.4999999999999968,
0.49999999999999684,
0.4999999999999969,
0.49999999999999695,
0.499999999999997,
0.49999999999999706,
0.4999999999999971,
0.49999999999999717,
0.4999999999999972,
0.4999999999999973,
0.49999999999999734,
0.4999999999999974,
0.49999999999999745,
0.4999999999999975,
0.49999999999999756,
0.4999999999999976,
0.49999999999999767,
0.4999999999999977,
0.4999999999999978,
0.49999999999999784,
0.4999999999999979,
0.49999999999999795,
0.499999999999998,
0.49999999999999806,
0.4999999999999981,
0.49999999999999817,
0.4999999999999982,
0.4999999999999983,
0.49999999999999833,
0.4999999999999984,
0.49999999999999845,
0.4999999999999985,
0.49999999999999856,
0.4999999999999986,
0.49999999999999867,
0.4999999999999987,
0.4999999999999988,
0.49999999999999883,
0.4999999999999989,
0.49999999999999895,
0.499999999999999,
0.49999999999999906,
0.4999999999999991,
0.49999999999999917,
0.4999999999999992,
0.4999999999999993,
0.49999999999999933,
0.4999999999999994,
0.49999999999999944,
0.4999999999999995,
0.49999999999999956,
0.4999999999999996,
0.49999999999999967,
0.4999999999999997,
0.4999999999999998,
0.49999999999999983,
0.4999999999999999,
0.49999999999999994,  # The previous representable float < 0.5
0.5,
0.5000000000000001,   # The next representable float > 0.5
0.5000000000000002,
0.5000000000000003,
0.5000000000000004,
0.5000000000000006,
0.5000000000000007,
0.5000000000000008,
0.5000000000000009,
0.500000000000001,
0.5000000000000011,
0.5000000000000012,
0.5000000000000013,
0.5000000000000014,
0.5000000000000016,
0.5000000000000017,
0.5000000000000018,
0.5000000000000019,
0.500000000000002,
0.5000000000000021,
0.5000000000000022,
0.5000000000000023,
0.5000000000000024,
0.5000000000000026,
0.5000000000000027,
0.5000000000000028,
0.5000000000000029,
0.500000000000003,
0.5000000000000031,
0.5000000000000032,
0.5000000000000033,
0.5000000000000034,
0.5000000000000036,
0.5000000000000037,
0.5000000000000038,
0.5000000000000039,
0.500000000000004,
0.5000000000000041,
0.5000000000000042,
0.5000000000000043,
0.5000000000000044,
0.5000000000000046,
0.5000000000000047,
0.5000000000000048,
0.5000000000000049,
0.500000000000005,
0.5000000000000051,
0.5000000000000052,
0.5000000000000053,
0.5000000000000054,
0.5000000000000056,
0.5000000000000057,
0.5000000000000058,
0.5000000000000059,
0.500000000000006,
0.5000000000000061,
0.5000000000000062,
0.5000000000000063,
0.5000000000000064,
0.5000000000000066,
0.5000000000000067,
0.5000000000000068,
0.5000000000000069,
0.500000000000007,
0.5000000000000071,
0.5000000000000072,
0.5000000000000073,
0.5000000000000074,
0.5000000000000075,
0.5000000000000077,
0.5000000000000078,
0.5000000000000079,
0.500000000000008,
0.5000000000000081,
0.5000000000000082,
0.5000000000000083,
0.5000000000000084,
0.5000000000000085,
0.5000000000000087,
0.5000000000000088,
0.5000000000000089,
0.500000000000009,
0.5000000000000091,
0.5000000000000092,
0.5000000000000093,
0.5000000000000094,
0.5000000000000095,
0.5000000000000097,
0.5000000000000098,
0.5000000000000099,
0.50000000000001]

q = (12.0, 12.0)
r = (24.0, 24.0)

for py in pys:
p = (px, py)
o = orientation(p, q, r)
print("orientation(({p[0]:>3}, {p[1]:<19}) q, r) -> {o:>2}".format(
p=p, o=o))

if __name__  == '__main__':
main()


The program includes definitions of our sign() and orientation() functions, together with a main() function which runs the test. The main function includes a list of the 271 nearest representable $$y$$-coordinate values to 0.5. We haven't included the code to generate these values successive float values because it's somewhat besides the point; we're referenced the necessary technique in the previous article.

The program iterates over these py values and performs the orientation test each time, printing the result. The complex format string is used to get readable output which lines up in columns. When we look at that output we see an intricate pattern of results emerge, which isn't even symmetrical around the central 0.5 value:

orientation((0.5, 0.50000000000001   ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000099 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000098 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000097 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000095 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000094 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000093 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000092 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000091 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.500000000000009  ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000089 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000088 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000087 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000085 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000084 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000083 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000082 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000081 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.500000000000008  ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000079 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000078 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000077 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000075 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000074 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000073 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000072 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000071 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.500000000000007  ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000069 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000068 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000067 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000066 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000064 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000063 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000062 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000061 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.500000000000006  ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000059 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000058 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000057 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000056 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000054 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000053 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000052 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000051 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.500000000000005  ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000049 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000048 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000047 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000046 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000044 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000043 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000042 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000041 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.500000000000004  ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000039 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000038 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000037 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000036 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000034 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000033 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000032 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000031 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.500000000000003  ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000029 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000028 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000027 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000026 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000024 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000023 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000022 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000021 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.500000000000002  ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000019 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000018 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000017 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000016 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000014 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000013 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000012 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000011 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.500000000000001  ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000009 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000008 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000007 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000006 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000004 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000003 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000002 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000001 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5                ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999994) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999999 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999983) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999998 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999997 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999967) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999996 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999956) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999995 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999944) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999994 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999933) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999993 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999992 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999917) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999991 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999906) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.499999999999999  ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999895) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999989 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999883) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999988 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999987 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999867) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999986 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999856) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999985 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999845) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999984 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999833) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999983 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999982 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999817) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999981 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999806) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.499999999999998  ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999795) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999979 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999784) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999978 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999977 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999767) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999976 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999756) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999975 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999745) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999974 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999734) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999973 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999972 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999717) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999971 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999706) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.499999999999997  ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999695) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999969 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999684) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999968 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999967 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999667) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999966 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999656) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999965 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999645) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999964 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999634) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999963 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999962 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999617) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999961 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999606) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.499999999999996  ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999595) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999959 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999584) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999958 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999957 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999567) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999956 ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999556) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999955 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999545) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999954 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999534) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999953 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999952 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999517) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999951 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999506) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.499999999999995  ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999495) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999949 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999484) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999948 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999947 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999467) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999946 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999456) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999945 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999445) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999944 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999434) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999943 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999942 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999417) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999941 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999406) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.499999999999994  ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999395) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999939 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999384) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999938 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999937 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999367) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999936 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999356) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999935 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999345) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999934 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999334) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999933 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999932 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999317) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999931 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999306) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.499999999999993  ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999295) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999929 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999284) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999928 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999273) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999927 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999926 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999256) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999925 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999245) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999924 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999234) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999923 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999223) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999922 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999921 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999206) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.499999999999992  ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999195) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999919 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999184) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999918 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999173) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999917 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999916 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999156) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999915 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999145) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999914 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999134) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999913 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999123) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999912 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999911 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999106) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.499999999999991  ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999095) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999909 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999084) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999908 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999073) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999907 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999906 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999056) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999905 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999045) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999904 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999034) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999903 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999023) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999902 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999901 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999006) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999   ) q, r) -> -1



The colour coding (added later) represents whether the algorithm reckons the points are above the line (in blue), on the line (in yellow) or below the line (in red). The only point which is actually on the line is in green.

By this point you should at least be wary of using floating point arithmetic for geometric computation. Lest you think this can easily be solved by introducing a tolerance value, or some other clunky solution, we'll save you the bother by pointing out that doing do merely moves these fringing effects to the edge of the tolerance zone.

What to do? Fortunately, as we alluded to at the beginning of this tale, Python gives us a solution into the form of the rational numbers, implemented as the Fraction type.

Let's make a small change to our program, converting all numbers to Fractions before proceeding with the computation. We'll do this by modifying the orientation() to convert each of its three arguments from a tuple containing a pair of numeric objects into a pair of Fractions. The Fraction constructor accepts a selection of numeric types, including float:

def orientation(p, q, r):
"""Determine the orientation of three points in the plane.

Args:
p, q, r: Two-tuples representing coordinate pairs of three points.

Returns:
-1 if p, q, r is a turn to the right, +1 if p, q, r is a turn to the
left, otherwise 0 if p, q, and r are collinear.
"""
p = (Fraction(p[0]), Fraction(p[1]))
q = (Fraction(q[0]), Fraction(q[1]))
r = (Fraction(r[0]), Fraction(r[1]))

d = (q[0] - p[0]) * (r[1] - p[1]) - (q[1] - p[1]) * (r[0] - p[0])
return sign(d)


The variable d will now also be a Fraction and the sign() function will work as expected with this type since it only uses comparison to zero.

Let's run our modified example:

orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999   ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999006) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999901 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999902 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999023) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999903 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999034) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999904 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999045) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999905 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999056) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999906 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999907 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999073) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999908 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999084) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999909 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999095) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.499999999999991  ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999106) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999911 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999912 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999123) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999913 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999134) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999914 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999145) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999915 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999156) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999916 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999917 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999173) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999918 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999184) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999919 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999195) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.499999999999992  ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999206) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999921 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999922 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999223) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999923 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999234) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999924 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999245) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999925 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999256) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999926 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999927 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999273) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999928 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999284) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999929 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999295) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.499999999999993  ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999306) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999931 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999317) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999932 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999933 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999334) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999934 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999345) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999935 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999356) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999936 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999367) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999937 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999938 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999384) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999939 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999395) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.499999999999994  ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999406) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999941 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999417) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999942 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999943 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999434) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999944 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999445) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999945 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999456) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999946 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999467) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999947 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999948 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999484) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999949 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999495) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.499999999999995  ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999506) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999951 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999517) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999952 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999953 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999534) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999954 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999545) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999955 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999556) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999956 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999567) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999957 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999958 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999584) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999959 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999595) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.499999999999996  ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999606) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999961 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999617) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999962 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999963 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999634) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999964 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999645) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999965 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999656) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999966 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999667) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999967 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999968 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999684) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999969 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999695) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.499999999999997  ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999706) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999971 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999717) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999972 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999973 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999734) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999974 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999745) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999975 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999756) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999976 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999767) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999977 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999978 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999784) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999979 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999795) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.499999999999998  ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999806) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999981 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999817) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999982 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999983 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999833) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999984 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999845) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999985 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999856) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999986 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999867) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999987 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999988 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999883) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999989 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999895) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.499999999999999  ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999906) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999991 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999917) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999992 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999993 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999933) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999994 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999944) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999995 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999956) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999996 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999967) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999997 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999998 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999983) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.4999999999999999 ) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.49999999999999994) q, r) -> -1
orientation((0.5, 0.5                ) q, r) ->  0
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000001 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000002 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000003 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000004 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000006 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000007 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000008 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000009 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.500000000000001  ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000011 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000012 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000013 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000014 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000016 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000017 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000018 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000019 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.500000000000002  ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000021 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000022 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000023 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000024 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000026 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000027 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000028 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000029 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.500000000000003  ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000031 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000032 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000033 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000034 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000036 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000037 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000038 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000039 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.500000000000004  ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000041 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000042 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000043 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000044 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000046 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000047 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000048 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000049 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.500000000000005  ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000051 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000052 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000053 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000054 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000056 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000057 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000058 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000059 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.500000000000006  ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000061 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000062 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000063 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000064 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000066 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000067 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000068 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000069 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.500000000000007  ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000071 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000072 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000073 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000074 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000075 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000077 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000078 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000079 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.500000000000008  ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000081 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000082 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000083 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000084 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000085 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000087 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000088 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000089 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.500000000000009  ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000091 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000092 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000093 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000094 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000095 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000097 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000098 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.5000000000000099 ) q, r) ->  1
orientation((0.5, 0.50000000000001   ) q, r) ->  1



Using Fractions internally, our orientation() function gets the full benefit of exact arithmetic with effectively infinite precision and consequently produces an exact result with only one position of p being reported as collinear with q and r.

In the next article, we'll more fully explore the behaviour of the non-robust float-based version of this function based graphically, to get an impression of how lines are 'seen' by floating-point geometric functions.

 [1] Python's float is an IEEE-754 double precision 64-bit float.

## Python’s super(): Not as Simple as You Thought

Python's super() is one of those aspects of the language that many developers use without really understanding what it does or how it works. [1] To many people, super() is simply how you access your base-class's implementation of a method. And while this is true, it's far from the full story.

In this series I want to look at the mechanics and some of the theory behind super(). I want to show that, far from just letting you access your base-class, Python's super() is the key to some interesting and elegant design options that promote composability, separation of concerns, and long-term maintainability. In this first article I'll introduce a small set of classes, and in these classes we'll find a bit of a mystery. In subsequent articles we'll investigate this mystery by seeing how Python's super() really works, looking at topics like method resolution order, the C3 algorithm, and proxy objects.

In the end, you'll find that super() is both more complex than you probably expected, yet also surprisingly elegant and easy-to-understand. This improved understanding of super() will help you understand and appreciate Python on at a deeper level, and it will give you new tools for developing your own Python code.

## A note on Python versions

This series is written using Python 3, and some of the examples and concepts don't apply completely to Python 2. In particular, this series assumes that classes are "new-style" classes. ((For a discussion of the difference between "old-style" and "new-style" classes, see the Python wiki.)) In Python 3 all classes are new-style, while in Python 2 you have to explicitly inherit from object to be a new-style class.

For example, where we might use the following Python 3 code in this series:

class IntList:
. . .


the equivalent Python 2 code would be:

class IntList(object):
. . .


Also, throughout this series we'll call super() with no arguments. This is only supported in Python 3, but it has an equivalent form in Python 2. In general, when you see a method like this:

class IntList:


the equivalent Python 2 code has to pass the class name and self to super(), like this:

class IntList:


If any other Python2/3 differences occur in the series, I'll be sure to point them out. [2]

### The Mystery of the SortedIntList

To begin, we're going to define a small family of classes that implement some constrained list-like functionality. These classes form a diamond inheritance graph like this:

At the root of these classes is SimpleList:

class SimpleList:
def __init__(self, items):
self._items = list(items)

self._items.append(item)

def __getitem__(self, index):
return self._items[index]

def sort(self):
self._items.sort()

def __len__(self):
return len(self._items)

def __repr__(self):
return "{}({!r})".format(
self.__class__.__name__,
self._items)


SimpleList uses a standard list internally, and it provides a smaller, more limited API for interacting with the list data. This may not be a very realistic class from a practical point of view, but, as you'll see, it let's us explore some interesting aspects of inheritance relationships in Python.

Next let's create a subclass of SimpleList which keeps the list contents sorted. We'll call this class SortedList:

class SortedList(SimpleList):
def __init__(self, items=()):
super().__init__(items)
self.sort()

self.sort()


The initializer calls SimpleList's initializer and then immediately uses SimpleList.sort() to sort the contents. SortedList also overrides the add method on SimpleList to ensure that the list always remains sorted.

In SortedList we already see a call to super(), and the intention of this code is pretty clear. In SortedList.add(), for example, super() is used to call SimpleList.add() - that is, deferring to the base-class - before sorting the list contents. There's nothing mysterious going on...yet.

Next let's define IntList, a SimpleList subclass which only allows integer elements. This list subclass prevents the insertion of non-integer elements, and it does so by using the isinstance() function:

class IntList(SimpleList):
def __init__(self, items=()):
for item in items: self._validate(item)
super().__init__(items)

@classmethod
def _validate(cls, item):
if not isinstance(item, int):
raise TypeError(
'{} only supports integer values.'.format(
cls.__name__))

self._validate(item)


You'll immediately notice that IntList is structurally similar to SortedList. It provides its own initializer and, like SortedList, overrides the add() method to perform extra checks. In this case, IntList calls its _validate() method on every item that goes into the list. _validate() uses isinstance() to check the type of the candidates, and if a candidate is not an instance of int, _validate() raises a TypeError.

Chances are, neither SortedList nor IntList are particularly surprising. They both use super() for the job that most people find most natural: calling base-class implementations. With that in mind, then, let's introduce one more class, SortedIntList, which inherits from both SortedList and IntList, and which enforces both constraints at once:

class SortedIntList(IntList, SortedList):
pass


It doesn't look like much, does it? We've simply defined a new class and given it two base classes. In fact, we haven't added any new implementation code at all. But if we go to the REPL we can see that it works as we expect. The initializer sorts the input sequence:

>>> sil = SortedIntList([42, 23, 2])
>>> sil
SortedIntList([2, 23, 42])


but rejects non-integer values:

>>> SortedIntList([3, 2, '1'])
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
File "sorted_int_list.py", line 43, in __init__
for x in items: self._validate(x)
File "sorted_int_list.py", line 49, in _validate
raise TypeError(
'{} only supports integer values.'.format(
cls.__name__))
TypeError: SortedIntList only supports integer values.


Likewise, add() maintains both the sorting and type constraints defined by the base classes:

>>> sil.add(-1234)
>>> sil
SortedIntList([-1234, 2, 23, 42])
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
File "sorted_int_list.py", line 45, in add
self._validate(item)
File "sorted_int_list.py", line 42, in _validate
raise TypeError(
'{} only supports integer values.'.format(
cls.__name__))
TypeError: SortedIntList only supports integer values.


You should spend some time playing with SortedIntList to convince yourself that it works as expected. You can get the code here.

It may not be immediately apparent how all of this works, though. After all, both IntList and SortedList define add(). How does Python know which add() to call? More importantly, since both the sorting and type constraints are being enforced by SortedIntList, how does Python seem to know to call both of them? This is the mystery that this series will unravel, and the answers to these questions have to do with the method resolution order we mentioned earlier, along with the details of how super() really works. So stay tuned!

 [1] If you do know how it works, then congratulations! This series probably isn't for you. But believe me, lots of people don't.
 [2] For a detailed look at the differences between the language versions, see Guido's list of differences.

## The Folly of Floating-Point for Robust Geometric Computation

Computational geometry - a world where lines have zero thickness, circles are perfectly round and points are dimensionless. Creating robust geometric algorithms using finite precision number types such as float is fiendishly difficult because it's not possible to exactly represent numbers such as one-third, which rather gets in the way of performing seemingly simple operations like dividing a line into exactly three equal segments. In this short series of posts, we'll look at some of the pitfalls of geometric computation, with examples in Python, although the key messages are true with finite-precision floating point numbers in any language.

Rational numbers, modelled by Python's Fraction [1] type can be useful for implementing robust geometric algorithms. These algorithms are often deeply elegant and surprising because they must avoid any detour into the realm of irrational numbers which cannot be represented in finite precision, which means that using seemingly innocuous operations like square root, for example to determine the length of a line using Pythagoras, are not permitted.

One algorithm which benefits from rational numbers is a simple collinearity test determining whether three points lie on the same line. This can be further refined to consider whether a query point $$p$$ is above, exactly on, or below the line. Now there are many ways to approach writing such a function, and like many questions in computational geometry the naïve approaches are either overly complex, inefficient, or just plain wrong, albeit in subtle ways. I won't cover the story of how to arrive at a robust algorithm, that story is entertaining covered in Writing Programs for "The Book" by Brian Hayes. [2] Rather, we'll start where Brian leaves off by showing how to implement the algorithm in Python using both floating-point and exact arithmetic so we can understand the tradeoffs between performance and correctness inherent in these choices. Along the way, we'll perhaps touch on some aspects of Python which may be new to you.

Whether p is above, exactly on, or below line p, r can be determined from the orientation of triangle p, q, r.

You don't need to understand the mathematics of the orientation test to appreciate the point of what we're about to demonstrate, suffice to say that the orientation of three two-dimensional points can be concisely found by computing the sign of the determinant of a three by three matrix containing the $$x$$ and $$y$$ coordinates of the points in question, where the determinant happens to be the signed area of the triangle formed by the three points:

\begin{equation*} \newcommand{\sgn}{\mathop{\rm sgn}\nolimits} o(p, q, r) = \sgn \begin{vmatrix} 1 & p\_x & p\_y\\1 & q\_x & q\_y\\1 & r\_x & r\_y \end{vmatrix} \end{equation*}

The function $$o$$ returns $$+1$$ if the polyline $$p$$, $$q$$, $$r$$ executes a left turn and the loop is counterclockwise, $$0$$ if the polyline is straight, or $$-1$$ if the polyline executes a right turn and the loop is clockwise. These values can in turn be interpreted in terms of whether the query point $$p$$ is above, on, or below the line through $$q$$ and $$r$$.

To cast this formula in Python, we need a sign function and a means of computing the determinant. Both of these are straightforward, although perhaps not obvious, and give us the opportunity to explore a little appreciated aspect of Python. First, the sign() function. You may be surprised to learn − and you wouldn't be alone − that there is no built-in or library function in Python which returns the sign of a number as $$-1$$, $$0$$ or $$+1$$, so we need to roll our own. The simplest solution is probably something like this:

>>> def sign(x):
...     if x < 0:
...         return -1
...     elif x > 0:
...         return 1
...     return 0
...
>>> sign(5)
1
>>> sign(-5)
-1
>>> sign(0)
0


This works well enough. A more elegant solution would be to exploit an interesting behaviour of the bool type, specifically how it behaves under subtraction. Let's do a few experiments:

>>> False - False
0
>>> False - True
-1
>>> True - False
1
>>> True - True
0


Intriguingly, subtraction of bool objects has an integer result! In fact, when used in arithmetic operations this way, True is equivalent to positive one and False is equivalent to zero. We can use this behaviour to implement a most elegant sign() function:

>>> def sign(x):
...     return (x > 0) - (x < 0)
...
>>> sign(-5)
-1
>>> sign(5)
1
>>> sign(0)
0


Now we need to compute the determinant. In our case this turns out to reduce down to simply:

\begin{equation*} \det = (q\_x - p\_x)(r\_y - p\_y) - (q\_y - p\_y)(r\_x - p\_x) \end{equation*}

so the definition of our orientation() function using tuple coordinate pairs for each point becomes just:

def orientation(p, q, r):
d = (q[0] - p[0]) * (r[1] - p[1]) - (q[1] - p[1]) * (r[0] - p[0])
return sign(d)


Let's test this on on some examples. First we set up three points a, b and c:

>>> a = (0, 0)
>>> b = (4, 0)
>>> c = (4, 3)


Now we test the orientation of a ➔ b ➔ c:

>>> orientation(a, b, c)
1


This represents a left turn, so the function returns positive one. On the other hand the orientation of a ➔ c ➔ b is negative one:

>>> orientation(a, c, b)
-1


Let's introduce a fourth point d which is collinear with a and c. As expected our orientation() function returns zero for the group a ➔ c ➔ d:

>>> d = (8, 6)
>>> orientation(a, c, d)
0


So far so good. Everything we have done so far is using integer numbers which, in Python, have arbitrary precision. Our function only uses multiplication and subtraction, with no division to result in float values, so all of that precision is preserved. But what happens if we use floating point values as our input data? Let's try some different values using floats. Here are three points which lie on a diagonal line:

>>> e = (0.5, 0.5)
>>> f = (12.0, 12.0)
>>> g = (24.0, 24.0)


As we would expect, our orientation test determines that these points are collinear:

>>> orientation(e, f, g)
0


Furthermore, moving the point e up a little, by increasing its $$y$$ coordinate by even a tiny amount, gives the answer we would expect:

>>> e = (0.5, 0.5000000000000018)
>>> orientation(e, f, g)
1


Now let's increase the $$y$$ coordinate just a little more. In fact, we'll increase it by the smallest possible amount to the next representable [3] floating point number:

>>> e = (0.5, 0.5000000000000019)
>>> orientation(e, f, g)
0


Wow! According to our orientation function the points e, f and g are collinear again. This cannot possibly be! In fact, we can go through the next 23 successive floating point values up to,

>>> e = (0.5, 0.5000000000000044)
>>> orientation(e, f, g)
0


with our function still reporting that the three points are collinear, until we get to this value,

>>> e = (0.5, 0.5000000000000046)


at which point things settle down and become well behaved again:

>>> orientation(e, f, g)
1


What's happening here is that we've run into problems with the finite precision of Python floats at points very close the diagonal line, and the mathematical assumptions we make in our formula about how numbers work break down due to the fact that floating point numbers are a far from a perfect model of real numbers. Next time, we'll investigate more thoroughly, the behaviour of this orientation test at the limits of floating-point precision.

 [1] The Fraction type which models rational numbers is defined in the Python Standard Library fractions module.
 [2] Hayes, Brian. (2007) Writing Programs for "The Book". In: Oram, A. & Wilson, G., eds. Beautiful Code O'Reilly Media. pp. 539–551.
 [3] In C we could use the nextafter() function to generate the next representable floating point number. Unfortunately, nextafter() is not exposed to Python. Various workarounds are available, including a version built into Numpy, directly calling the C version using ctypes and a pure Python implementation.

## How to write Boost.Python type converters

Boost.Python [1] makes it possible to write C++ that "feels" like Python. The library is powerful and sometimes subtle. This is as compared with the Python C API, where the experience is very far removed from writing Python code.

Part of making C++ feel more like Python is allowing natural assignment of C++ objects to Python variables. For instance, assigning an standard library string to a Python object looks like this:

// Create a C++ string
std::string msg("Hello, Python");

// Assign it to a python object
boost::python::object py_msg = msg;


Likewise (though somewhat less naturally), it is also important to be able to extract C++ objects from Python objects. Boost.Python provides the extract [2] type for this:

boost::python::object obj = ... ;
std::string msg = boost::python::extract(obj);


To allow this kind of natural assignment, Boost.Python provides a system for registering converters between the languages. Unfortunately, the Boost.Python documentation does a pretty poor job of describing how to write them. A bit of searching on the internet will turn up a few links. [3]

While these are fine (and, in truth, are the basis for what I know about the conversion system), they are not as explicit as I would like.

So, in an effort to clarify the conversion system both for myself and (hopefully) others, I wrote this little primer. I'll step through a full example showing how to write converters for Qt's QString [4] class. In the end, you should have all the information you need to write and register your own converters.

## Converting QString

A Boost.Python type converter consists of two major parts. The first part, which is generally the simpler of the two, converts a C++ type into a Python type. I'll refer to this as the to-python converter. The second part converts a Python object into a C++ type. I'll refer to this as the from-python converter.

In order to have your converters be used at runtime, the Boost.Python framework requires you to register them. The Boost.Python API provides separate methods for registering to-python and from-python converters. Because of this, you are free to provide conversion in only one direction for a type if you so choose.

Note that, for certain elements of what I'm about to describe, there is more than one way to do things. For example, in some cases where I choose to use static member functions, you could also use free functions. I won't point these out, but if you wear your C++ thinking-cap you should be able to see what is mandatory and what isn't.

### To-python Converters

A to-python converter converts a C++ type to a Python object. From an API perspective, a to-python converter is used any time that you construct a boost::python::object [5] from another C++ type. For example:

// Construct object from an int
boost::python::object int_obj(42);

// Construct object from a string
boost::python::object str_obj = std::string("llama");

// Construct object from a user-defined type
Foo foo;
boost::python::object foo_obj(foo);


You implement a to-python converter using a struct with static member function named convert(), which takes the C++ object to be converted as its argument, and it returns a PyObject*. A to-python converter for QStrings looks like this:

/* to-python convert to QStrings */
struct QString_to_python_str
{
static PyObject* convert(QString const& s)
{
return boost::python::incref(
boost::python::object(
s.toLatin1().constData()).ptr());
}
};


The crux what this does is as follows:

1. Extract the QString's underlying character data using toLatin1().constData()
2. Construct a boost::python::object with the character data
3. Retrieve the boost::python::object's PyObject* with ptr()
4. Increment the reference count on the PyObject* and return that pointer.

That last step bears a little explanation. Suppose that you didn't increment the reference count on the returned pointer. As soon as the function returned, the boost::python::object in the function would destruct, thereby reducing the ref-count to zero. When the PyObject's reference count goes to zero, Python will consider the object dead and it may be garbage-collected, meaning you would return a deallocated object from convert().

Once you've written the to-python converter for a type, you need to register it with Boost.Python's runtime. You do this with the aptly-named to_python_converter [6] template:

// register the QString-to-python converter
boost::python::to_python_converter<
QString,
QString_to_python_str>()


The first template parameter is the C++ type for which you're registering a converter. The second is the converter struct. Notice that this registration process is done at runtime; you need to call the registration functions before you try to do any custom type converting.

### From-python Converters

From-python converters are slightly more complex because, beyond simply providing a function to convert from Python to C++, they also have to provide a function that determines if a Python type can safely be converted to the requested C++ type. Likewise, they often require more knowledge of the Python C API.

From-python converters are used whenever Boost.Python's extract type is called. For example:

// get an int from a python object
int x = boost::python::extract(int_obj);

// get an STL string from a python object
std::string s = boost::python::extract(str_obj);

// get a user-defined type from a python object
Foo foo = boost::python::extract(foo_obj);


The recipe I use for creating from-python converters is similar to to-python converters: create a struct with some static methods and register those with the Boost.Python runtime system.

The first method you'll need to define is used to determine whether an arbitrary Python object is convertible to the type you want to extract. If the conversion is OK, this function should return the PyObject*; otherwise, it should return NULL. So, for QStrings you would write:

struct QString_from_python_str
{

. . .

// Determine if obj_ptr can be converted in a QString
static void* convertible(PyObject* obj_ptr)
{
if (!PyString_Check(obj_ptr)) return 0;
return obj_ptr;
}

. . .

};


This simply says that a PyObject* can be converted to a QString if it is a Python string.

The second method you'll need to write does the actual conversion. The primary trick in this method is that Boost.Python will provide you with a chunk of memory into which you must in-place construct your new C++ object. All of the funny "rvalue_from_python" stuff just has to do with Boost.Python's method for providing you with that memory chunk:

struct QString_from_python_str
{

. . .

// Convert obj_ptr into a QString
static void construct(
PyObject* obj_ptr,
boost::python::converter::rvalue_from_python_stage1_data* data)
{
// Extract the character data from the python string
const char* value = PyString_AsString(obj_ptr);

// Verify that obj_ptr is a string (should be ensured by
convertible())
assert(value);

// Grab pointer to memory into which to construct the new QString
void* storage = (
(boost::python::converter::rvalue_from_python_storage*)
data)->storage.bytes;

// in-place construct the new QString using the character data
// extraced from the python object
new (storage) QString(value);

// Stash the memory chunk pointer for later use by boost.python
data->convertible = storage;
}

. . .

};


The final step for from-python converters is, of course, to register the converter. To do this, you use boost::python::converter::registry::push_back(). [7] The first argument is a pointer to the function which tests for convertibility, the second is a pointer to the conversion function, and the third is a boost::python::type_id for the C++ type. In this case, we'll put the registration into the constructor for the struct we've been building up:

struct QString_from_python_str
{
QString_from_python_str()
{
boost::python::converter::registry::push_back(
&convertible,
&construct,
boost::python::type_id());
}

. . .

};


Now, if you simply construct a single QString_from_python_str object in your initialization code (just like you how you called to_python_converter() for the to-python registration), conversion from Python strings to QString will be enabled.

### Taking a reference to the PyObject in convert()

One gotcha to be aware of in your construct() function is that the PyObject argument is a 'borrowed' reference. That is, its reference count has not already been incremented for you. [8] If you plan to keep a reference to that object, you must use Boost.Python's borrowed construct. For example:

class MyClass
{
public:
MyClass(boost::python::object obj) : obj_ (obj) {}

private:
boost::python::object obj_;
};

struct MyClass_from_python
{
. . .

static void construct(
PyObject* obj_ptr,
boost::python::converter::rvalue_from_python_stage1_data* data)
{
using namespace boost::python;

void* storage = (
(converter::rvalue_from_python_storage*)
data)->storage.bytes;

// Use borrowed to construct the object so that a reference
// count will be properly handled.
handle<> hndl(borrowed(obj_ptr));
new (storage) MyClass(object(hndl));

data->convertible = storage;
}
};


Failing to use borrowed() in this situation will generally lead to memory corruption and/or garbage collection errors in the Python runtime.

There are a number of useful resources on the web for finding more information on Boost.Python objects, handles, and reference counting. [9]

## When converters don't exist

Finally, a cautionary note. The Boost.Python type-conversion system works well, not only at the job of moving objects across the C++-python languages barrier, but at making code easier to read and understand. You must always keep in mind, though, this comes at the cost of very little compile-time checking.

That is, the boost::python::object copy-constructor is templatized and accepts any type without complaint. This means that your code will compile just fine even if you're constructing boost::python::object s from types that have no registered converter. At runtime these constructors will find that they have no converter for the requested type, and this will result in exceptions.

These exceptions [10] will tend to happen in unexpected places, and you could spend quite a bit of time trying to figure them out. I say all of this so that maybe, when you encounter strange exceptions when using Boost.Python, you'll remember to check that your converters are registered first. Hopefully it'll save you some time.

## Resources

Boost.Python is fairly complex and can be difficult to understand all at once. Here are few more useful resources that might help you come up to speed on this useful technology:

• This IPython notebook-based tutorial covers a lot of the major (and some of the more obscure) topics in Boost.Python.
• The Boost.Python wiki contains a lot of collected Boost.Python knowledge.
• And of course, the Boost.Python documentation itself is very useful.

## Appendix: Full code for QString converter

struct QString_to_python_str
{
static PyObject* convert(QString const& s)
{
return boost::python::incref(
boost::python::object(
s.toLatin1().constData()).ptr());
}
};

struct QString_from_python_str
{
QString_from_python_str()
{
boost::python::converter::registry::push_back(
&convertible,
&construct,
boost::python::type_id());
}

// Determine if obj_ptr can be converted in a QString
static void* convertible(PyObject* obj_ptr)
{
if (!PyString_Check(obj_ptr)) return 0;
return obj_ptr;
}

// Convert obj_ptr into a QString
static void construct(
PyObject* obj_ptr,
boost::python::converter::rvalue_from_python_stage1_data* data)
{
// Extract the character data from the python string
const char* value = PyString_AsString(obj_ptr);

// Verify that obj_ptr is a string (should be ensured by convertible())
assert(value);

// Grab pointer to memory into which to construct the new QString
void* storage = (
(boost::python::converter::rvalue_from_python_storage*)
data)->storage.bytes;

// in-place construct the new QString using the character data
// extraced from the python object
new (storage) QString(value);

// Stash the memory chunk pointer for later use by boost.python
data->convertible = storage;
}
};

void initializeConverters()
{
using namespace boost::python;

// register the to-python converter
to_python_converter<
QString,
QString_to_python_str>();

// register the from-python converter
QString_from_python_str();
}

 [9] For example, this discussion from the C++-sig discussion list, the Boost.Python documentation, and David Abrahams' guidelines. for handle<> on the Python wiki.))