2.10. Bézier Curves

Originally developed by a French physicist and mathematician named Paul de Casteljau, bézier curves were popularized by a French engineer named Pierre Bézier.

Bézier curves were originally used to design automobile bodies and today are used in most computer graphics systems such as Adobe Illustrator, Apple’s Cocoa, and HTML5 Canvas.

There are two types of bézier curves: quadratic and cubic. Quadratic curves are second degree curves, meaning they are defined by three points: two anchor points and one control point. Cubic bézier curves are third-degree curves so they are defined with four points: two anchor points and two control points.

Canvas supports both quadratic and cubic bézier curves. The sections that follow explore generating those curves with Canvas.