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Jonathan Richard Shewchuk developed adaptive exact arithmetic methods for robust computational geometry predicates. Orientation and incircle tests depend on the sign of a determinant; an incorrectly rounded sign near zero can corrupt the geometric decisions of an algorithm. His method spends additional precision only when needed to establish the correct sign.^[ref]

For example, three nearly collinear points may give an orientation determinant extremely close to zero even when their coordinates are individually unexceptional. A fast approximate evaluation can resolve an easy case, while a difficult case triggers more exact work. This connects numerical accuracy to a discrete geometric decision, not merely to the number of printed decimal places.

Homepage: people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~jrs/

An orientation predicate determines on which side of an oriented geometric object a point lies. For planar points $p,q,r$, compute the determinantIn coordinates with $x$ rightward and $y$ upward, $D>0$ means a counterclockwise turn from $p$ through $q$ to $r$, $D<0$ a clockwise turn, and $D=0$ collinearity. Its magnitude is twice the area of the triangle.

For $p=(0,0)$ and $q=(2,0)$, $r=(1,3)$ gives $D=6$, while $(1,-3)$ gives $D=-6$. Convex hull and segment-intersection algorithms use these signs to make discrete decisions. A tiny round-off error can reverse a nearly zero sign and make those decisions inconsistent. Jonathan Richard Shewchuk's adaptive arithmetic computes extra precision only when needed to certify the sign for the supplied coordinates.^[ref]