There are many similar infographics (infogifs?) displaying Bézier curves, but this[0] is by far the best in depth explanation of what those colored lines actually mean or how you get them.
These things are great, I have always thought it would be a great resource to have a library of them that are creative commons.
There doesn't appear to be a name for what they are however. Concept-expressed-as-code-generated-animation that-is-sometimes-interactive is a bit longwinded. Ceacgatisi is a bit of a mouthful.
The idea that it should have a name is not as trivial as it might seem. If these things had a name it would stimulate development of new ones. "I'll make an X" "Let's see if there's an X for that concept".
The odd thing is it would probably be best if a name used for the idea didn't actually express what the idea was. An abstract name that allowed the idea to form naturally rather than directing a specific manner. Much in a similar way to Kodi is an abstract name rather than the descriptive (but inaccurate) XBMC.
I've often seen where Bézier curves ("splines") are used to interpolate 'missing' data (for visualization, but also for analytical curve fitting) and always worry that hidden assumptions are thereby in place, (for instance: is nature, by default, 'smooth'?). If there was a reference discussing this situation, I'd love to be directed to it.
The wikipedia page about bézier curves has a similar gif. This is actually how I first understood the concept and drew my first bézier curve (seeing the picture was enough to implement it), years ago. Great visualization, very easy to understand.
This is something like the 4th or 5th time I've seen Bezier curves appear on HN. What do you IT guys even use them for? Vector graphics?
As a MechE, we encounter them mainly due to CAD and associated computational engineering, but I couldn't map how they'd be used in the more general IT world. I'd love to hear some use cases!
I'm using them right now to implement smooth line drawing in an iOS app. Really easy and effective!
Also, it's super easy to create programmatic art for your app using the CoreGraphics API. If you go that route, there's a good chance you'll be creating a few UIBezierCurve objects along the way.
I used them years ago to create bezier patch landscapes in games (PS1, PS2 era,...) . They allow for adaptive resolution which is great when you want to get rid of that rigid polygon look.
I wrote some Clojure code a while back that may or may not correctly implement interpolation over 2D Bezier curves here https://gist.github.com/th0ma5w/4035151
I would go as far as to call it a bezier reference document. I learned both geomteric and numerical approaches to calculate, combine and draw bezier curves from this source. I am still amazed by the beauty of de Casteljau's algorithm.
http://sploid.gizmodo.com/fantastic-explanation-of-how-compu...