Ph. D. wrote:

>
> Nicholas Bodley wrote:
> >
> > Ph. D. <phild@...> wrote:
> >
> > > Computers don't *think* at all. They simply draw line segments.
> >
> > > Computer programs (written by humans) say, e.g., from point x1,
> > > y1 to point x2, y2 draw a line (or arc). A series of these may
> > > represent lines on a spreadsheet grid or a letter in a font. Only
> > > to a human do the lines have meaning.
> >
> > Ultimately, these days, all images (anything visible that isn't text)
> > become bit maps. Text becomes bitmapped images, as well; that makes
> > merging images and text at least theoretically easier.
> >
> > Some CRT displays used to draw strokes, as did pen plotters.
>
> Yes, I know. I was trying to simplify. An application only has to
> call an internal Windows routine specifying the endpoints, then
> Windows calculates which points on the screen need to change
> color to render the line segment.

Unless you don't use a Windows computer.

> I was trying to emphasize that a pattern of points on the screen
> means nothing to a computer, only to a human who interprets
> it. In the same way, the computer cannot tell what a sequence of
> bytes in memory represents. It could be machine code or encoded
> text or a floating point number or something else. It's only a matter
> of interpretation.

--
Peter T. Daniels grammatim@...