Modeling the Line: Bresenham’s Algorithm, 1962–87

Abstract

This paper follows the proliferation of the “line-drawing algorithm,” a method for encoding lines into digital media that saw widespread application in early interactive computing. The algorithm reveals a tightly linked complex of graphical technologies which integrated disparate hardware and software into continuous, real-time operation. Generated by this algorithm, the rasterized line offered an interactive form of graphic production, one categorically distinct from the inscribed line of orthographic representation. It transformed geometry into a computable entity, reproduced the line in an array of display technologies, and standardized its usage through the practices of computer graphics programming. As an automated method that produced lines from data manipulated by a user, the algorithm illuminates a shift in the work of graphic representation from drawing to modeling. This change is considered against discourses that posit line drawing as integral to an architectural notion of representation, examining the capacity of the algorithmic line to mask historical discontinuities and suggesting that drawing and line, rather than denoting stable disciplinary categories, are constantly constructed within broader technological regimes.