Attributes

DEFINITION
A quality associated with a geometric primitive in an object graphic.

EXPLANATION
Geometric and non-geometric variations on a primitive. Common examples of attributes include

• line weight (width)
• line style (dotted, dashed, solid, etc.)
• line color
• polygon fill pattern
• layer name/number

OPERATION
A natural way to increase the efficiency of program code by collapsing the range of shapes which may be drawn into categories involving primitives and variations on the primitive. Thus, line primitives may be modified by a variety of attributes, as indicated above.

Usually the software provides a mechanism to set the attribute value for future primitive instances (i.e., to set the defaults), and a means of editing the attributes without editing the primitive's fundamental geometry (end-points, etc.).

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