Maximum-Area Triangle in a Convex Polygon, Revisited

05/31/2017
by   Vahideh Keikha, et al.
0

We revisit the following problem: Given a convex polygon P, find the largest-area inscribed triangle. We show by example that the linear-time algorithm presented in 1979 by Dobkin and Snyder for solving this problem fails. We then proceed to show that with a small adaptation, their approach does lead to a quadratic-time algorithm. We also present a more involved O(n n) time divide-and-conquer algorithm. Also we show by example that the algorithm presented in 1979 by Dobkin and Snyder for finding the largest-area k-gon that is inscribed in a convex polygon fails to find the optimal solution for k=4. Finally, we discuss the implications of our discoveries on the literature.

READ FULL TEXT

Please sign up or login with your details

Forgot password? Click here to reset