Z-order curve

Imagine you have a very big piece of paper with lots of small squares drawn on it. Each square represents a point on a map or a picture. When you look at the map or the picture, you might want to see it in a specific order, for example, from the top-left corner to the bottom-right corner.

Now, imagine you want to visit all the points on the map or in the picture, but you don't want to jump from one square to another that is far away. To make your trip smoother, you can use a special trick called a z-order curve.

A z-order curve is like a long snake that starts at the top-left corner, goes down to the bottom-left corner, then jumps over to the bottom-right corner, and finally goes back up to the top-right corner. This snake goes through all the squares on the map or in the picture in a specific order that makes sense to our eyes.

So, instead of jumping from one square to another all over the place, you can follow the z-order curve and visit all the squares smoothly and efficiently. Think of it like following a map or a blueprint to visit all the rooms in a house. The z-order curve helps you do it in a logical and organized way.