Editing Pierre Bézier (section)

==Bézier curve==
[[File:Bézier 2 big.gif|thumb|right|The curve named after Pierre Bézier]]
Bézier popularized but did not actually create the [[Bézier curve]]&nbsp;&mdash; using such curves to design [[automobile]] bodies.  The curves were first developed in 1959 by [[Paul de Casteljau]] using [[de Casteljau's algorithm]], a [[numerical stability|numerically stable]] method to evaluate Bézier curves. The curves remain widely used in computer graphics to model smooth curves.

Bézier developed the notation, consisting of nodes with attached [[Adjustment handles|control handles]], with which the curves are represented in computer software. The control handles define the shape of the curve on either side of the common node, and can be manipulated by the user, via the software.<ref name="doctor"/>

Bézier curves were adopted as the standard curve of the [[PostScript]] language and subsequently were adopted by vector programs such as [[Adobe Illustrator]], [[CorelDRAW]] and [[Inkscape]]. Most outline fonts, including [[TrueType]] and [[PostScript fonts|PostScript Type 1]], are defined with Bézier curves.