Half-edge data structure

Okay kiddo, let me try to explain the half-edge data structure.

Imagine you have a toy house made out of building blocks. Now, you want to have doors and windows on this house. To do that, you need to make sure the edges of the blocks fit together correctly. That's what half-edge data structure helps you do in a computer program when you want to create 3D models and shapes.

So, think of the half-edge data structure like a way to keep track of all the edges in your 3D model in a very organized way. Each edge has two sides, so we call one side a half-edge. That means that every single edge in your 3D model actually has two half-edges.

Now, let's say we have a building block that has four edges. Each of these edges has two half-edges, so we have a total of eight half-edges. The half-edge data structure lets us keep track of all eight of these half-edges and which edges they connect to.

With the half-edge data structure, we can easily navigate through different parts of the model and figure out which edges share vertices or which faces connect to each other. It's like a map that helps us understand how everything fits together in space.

Overall, the half-edge data structure is just a fancy way of keeping track of all the edges and vertices in a 3D model so we can build more complex shapes and models with ease. It's like having a secret guidebook to help you build the coolest toy house ever!