Download the JDK
Search the Tutorials
Hide the TOC
Trail: 2D Graphics
Lesson: Overview of the Java 2D API Concepts
Overview of the Java 2D API Concepts
Coordinates
Java 2D Rendering
Geometric Primitives
Text
Images
Printing
Home Page > 2D Graphics > Overview of the Java 2D API Concepts
Coordinates

> The Java 2D™ API maintains two coordinate spaces.
> - User space – The space in which graphics primitives are specified
> - Device space – The coordinate system of an output device such as a screen, window, or a printer

> User space is a device-independent logical coordinate system, the coordinate space that your program uses. All geometries passed into Java 2D rendering routines are specified in user-space coordinates.

> When the default transformation from user space to device space is used, the origin of user space is the upper-left corner of the component’s drawing area. The x coordinate increases to the right, and the y coordinate increases downward, as shown in the following figure. The top-left corner of a window is 0,0. All coordinates are specified using integers, which is usually sufficient. However, some cases require floating point or even double precision which are also supported.

> Device space is a device-dependent coordinate system that varies according to the target rendering device. Although the coordinate system for a window or screen might be very different from the coordinate system of a printer, these differences are invisible to Java programs. The necessary conversions between user space and device space are performed automatically during rendering.

Previous page: Overview of the Java 2D API Concepts
Next page: Java 2D Rendering