Class Quaternion

  • All Implemented Interfaces:
    Serializable

    public final class Quaternion
    extends Object
    implements Serializable
    This class implements quaternions (Hamilton's hypercomplex numbers).

    Wherever quaternion components are listed in sequence, this class follows the convention of placing the scalar (w) component first, e.g. [w, x, y, z]. Other libraries and textbooks may place the w component last.

    Instances of this class are guaranteed to be immutable.

    See Also:
    Serialized Form
    • Method Detail

      • of

        public static Quaternion of​(double w,
                                    double x,
                                    double y,
                                    double z)
        Builds a quaternion from its components.
        Parameters:
        w - Scalar component.
        x - First vector component.
        y - Second vector component.
        z - Third vector component.
        Returns:
        a quaternion instance.
      • of

        public static Quaternion of​(double scalar,
                                    double[] v)
        Builds a quaternion from scalar and vector parts.
        Parameters:
        scalar - Scalar part of the quaternion.
        v - Components of the vector part of the quaternion.
        Returns:
        a quaternion instance.
        Throws:
        IllegalArgumentException - if the array length is not 3.
      • of

        public static Quaternion of​(double[] v)
        Builds a pure quaternion from a vector (assuming that the scalar part is zero).
        Parameters:
        v - Components of the vector part of the pure quaternion.
        Returns:
        a quaternion instance.
      • conjugate

        public Quaternion conjugate()
        Returns the conjugate of this quaternion number. The conjugate of a + bi + cj + dk is a - bi -cj -dk.
        Returns:
        the conjugate of this quaternion object.
      • multiply

        public static Quaternion multiply​(Quaternion q1,
                                          Quaternion q2)
        Returns the Hamilton product of two quaternions.
        Parameters:
        q1 - First quaternion.
        q2 - Second quaternion.
        Returns:
        the product q1 and q2, in that order.
      • multiply

        public Quaternion multiply​(Quaternion q)
        Returns the Hamilton product of the instance by a quaternion.
        Parameters:
        q - Quaternion.
        Returns:
        the product of this instance with q, in that order.
      • add

        public static Quaternion add​(Quaternion q1,
                                     Quaternion q2)
        Computes the sum of two quaternions.
        Parameters:
        q1 - Quaternion.
        q2 - Quaternion.
        Returns:
        the sum of q1 and q2.
      • add

        public Quaternion add​(Quaternion q)
        Computes the sum of the instance and another quaternion.
        Parameters:
        q - Quaternion.
        Returns:
        the sum of this instance and q.
      • subtract

        public static Quaternion subtract​(Quaternion q1,
                                          Quaternion q2)
        Subtracts two quaternions.
        Parameters:
        q1 - First Quaternion.
        q2 - Second quaternion.
        Returns:
        the difference between q1 and q2.
      • subtract

        public Quaternion subtract​(Quaternion q)
        Subtracts a quaternion from the instance.
        Parameters:
        q - Quaternion.
        Returns:
        the difference between this instance and q.
      • dot

        public static double dot​(Quaternion q1,
                                 Quaternion q2)
        Computes the dot-product of two quaternions.
        Parameters:
        q1 - Quaternion.
        q2 - Quaternion.
        Returns:
        the dot product of q1 and q2.
      • dot

        public double dot​(Quaternion q)
        Computes the dot-product of the instance by a quaternion.
        Parameters:
        q - Quaternion.
        Returns:
        the dot product of this instance and q.
      • norm

        public double norm()
        Computes the norm of the quaternion.
        Returns:
        the norm.
      • normSq

        public double normSq()
        Computes the square of the norm of the quaternion.
        Returns:
        the square of the norm.
      • normalize

        public Quaternion normalize()
        Computes the normalized quaternion (the versor of the instance). The norm of the quaternion must not be near zero.
        Returns:
        a normalized quaternion.
        Throws:
        IllegalStateException - if the norm of the quaternion is NaN, infinite, or near zero.
      • equals

        public boolean equals​(Quaternion q,
                              double eps)
        Checks whether this instance is equal to another quaternion within a given tolerance.
        Parameters:
        q - Quaternion with which to compare the current quaternion.
        eps - Tolerance.
        Returns:
        true if the each of the components are equal within the allowed absolute error.
      • isUnit

        public boolean isUnit​(double eps)
        Checks whether the instance is a unit quaternion within a given tolerance.
        Parameters:
        eps - Tolerance (absolute error).
        Returns:
        true if the norm is 1 within the given tolerance, false otherwise
      • isPure

        public boolean isPure​(double eps)
        Checks whether the instance is a pure quaternion within a given tolerance.
        Parameters:
        eps - Tolerance (absolute error).
        Returns:
        true if the scalar part of the quaternion is zero.
      • positivePolarForm

        public Quaternion positivePolarForm()
        Returns the polar form of the quaternion.
        Returns:
        the unit quaternion with positive scalar part.
      • negate

        public Quaternion negate()
        Returns the opposite of this instance.
        Returns:
        the quaternion for which all components have an opposite sign to this one.
      • inverse

        public Quaternion inverse()
        Returns the inverse of this instance. The norm of the quaternion must not be zero.
        Returns:
        the inverse.
        Throws:
        IllegalStateException - if the norm (squared) of the quaternion is NaN, infinite, or near zero.
      • getW

        public double getW()
        Gets the first component of the quaternion (scalar part).
        Returns:
        the scalar part.
      • getX

        public double getX()
        Gets the second component of the quaternion (first component of the vector part).
        Returns:
        the first component of the vector part.
      • getY

        public double getY()
        Gets the third component of the quaternion (second component of the vector part).
        Returns:
        the second component of the vector part.
      • getZ

        public double getZ()
        Gets the fourth component of the quaternion (third component of the vector part).
        Returns:
        the third component of the vector part.
      • getScalarPart

        public double getScalarPart()
        Gets the scalar part of the quaternion.
        Returns:
        the scalar part.
        See Also:
        getW()
      • getVectorPart

        public double[] getVectorPart()
        Gets the three components of the vector part of the quaternion.
        Returns:
        the vector part.
        See Also:
        getX(), getY(), getZ()
      • multiply

        public Quaternion multiply​(double alpha)
        Multiplies the instance by a scalar.
        Parameters:
        alpha - Scalar factor.
        Returns:
        a scaled quaternion.
      • divide

        public Quaternion divide​(double alpha)
        Divides the instance by a scalar.
        Parameters:
        alpha - Scalar factor.
        Returns:
        a scaled quaternion.
      • parse

        public static Quaternion parse​(String s)
        Parses a string that would be produced by toString() and instantiates the corresponding object.
        Parameters:
        s - String representation.
        Returns:
        an instance.
        Throws:
        NumberFormatException - if the string does not conform to the specification.