Given a point's coordinates, how can I determine if it is within an arbitrary shape?
The shape is defined by an array of points, I do not know where the shape is 'closed', the part I really need help is to work out where the shape is closed.
Here's an image to illustrate what I mean a little better:
Actually, if you are given an array of points, you can check the closeness of the shape as follows:
Consider pairs of points P[i] and P[i+1] given in the array - they form some segment of the border of your shape. What you need to check is if there exist two such segments that intersect, which can be checked in O(N^2) time (just by checking all possible pairs of such segments). If there exists an intersection, that means that your shape is closed.
Note: you must be attentive not to forget to check the segment P[0],P[n-1] either (i.e. first and last points in the array).