An Integer Method for the Graphical Output of Conic Sections

A method is described of generating polygonal line approximations to curves defined as conic sections, using only 16-bit integer arithmetic. Integer analogs of the parametric forms of conic section definitions are employed, with table look-up for the trigonometric functions and a fixed-point square root algorithm derived from the subtraction method commonly used with mechanical calculators. For computers without floating-point hardware the method offers significant advantages over direct software simulation of floating-point hardware instructions.