PSTricks: How to connect inside arrow heads on two different bezier curves?

Question

I used \psbezier to draw a triangle with pushed-in edges:

\begin{pspicture}(0,-1)(3,1)
    \psdot(0,0) \uput[180](0,0){$a$}
    \psdot(3,1) \uput[45](3,1){$c$}
    \psdot(3,-1) \uput[-45](3,-1){$b$}
    \psbezier(3,1)(2,0.4)(1,0.1)(0,0)
    \psbezier[ArrowInside=-*,ArrowInsidePos=0.66](0,0)(1,-0.1)(2,-0.4)(3,-1)
    \psbezier[ArrowInside=-*,ArrowInsidePos=0.33](3,-1)(2.6,-0.5)(2.6,0.5)(3,1)
\end{pspicture}

Now, I can't find a smart way (not using trial-and-error guessing coordinates) to connect the (unnamed) bullets on the bezier curves specified through ArrowInside and ArrowInsidePos through a straight line.

Alternatively, it would be sufficient for me to connect the intersections of a straight line with those two bezier curves. But again: I can't think of a smart way doing this using PStricks even after browsing through the comprehensive User's Guide by Timothy Van Zandt.

Any suggestions how to solve that problem?

Answer 1

A Bézier curve is specified as a polynomial of third order in its x and y coordinates. Here is how you can use \psparnode (from pst-node) to place nodes at any distance on the curve:

I used the formulas from the PostScript redbook, p. 565 (http://www.adobe.com/products/postscript/pdfs/PLRM.pdf‎:

\documentclass[margin=12pt, pstricks]{standalone}
\usepackage{pst-node}
\makeatletter
\def\psbeziernode(#1)(#2)(#3)(#4)#5#6{%
  \begingroup
    \pst@getcoor{#1}\pst@tempa
    \pst@getcoor{#2}\pst@tempb
    \pst@getcoor{#3}\pst@tempc
    \pst@getcoor{#4}\pst@tempd
    \psparnode{#5}{%
      \pst@tempa /y0 ED /x0 ED
      \pst@tempb /y1 ED /x1 ED
      \pst@tempc /y2 ED /x2 ED
      \pst@tempd /y3 ED /x3 ED
      /cx { x1 x0 sub 3 mul } def
      /bx { x2 x1 sub 3 mul cx sub } def
      /ax { x3 x0 sub bx sub cx sub } def
      /cy { y1 y0 sub 3 mul } def
      /by { y2 y1 sub 3 mul cy sub } def
      /ay { y3 y0 sub by sub cy sub } def
      ax t mul bx add t mul cx add t mul x0 add
      ay t mul by add t mul cy add t mul y0 add \tx@UserCoor}{#6}%      
  \endgroup
}%
\makeatother
\begin{document}
\begin{pspicture}(0,-1)(3,1)
    \psdot(0,0) \uput[180](0,0){$a$}
    \psdot(3,1) \uput[45](3,1){$c$}
    \psdot(3,-1) \uput[-45](3,-1){$b$}
    \psbezier(3,1)(2,0.4)(1,0.1)(0,0)
    \psbezier(0,0)(1,-0.1)(2,-0.4)(3,-1)
    \psbeziernode(0,0)(1,-0.1)(2,-0.4)(3,-1){0.66}{N1}
    \psbezier(3,-1)(2.6,-0.5)(2.6,0.5)(3,1)
    \psbeziernode(3,-1)(2.6,-0.5)(2.6,0.5)(3,1){0.33}{N2}
    \psline[linecolor=red](N1)(N2)\psdot(N1)\psdot(N2)
\end{pspicture}
\end{document}

The result is:

Note, that the positions of \psbeziernode and ArrowInsidePos do not fully coincide for the same values.

The ArrowInside arrows are shifted a bit, which can be seen, when comparing the original nodes to ArrowInsidePos=0 and ArrowInsidePos=1.

Answer 2

A TikZ-based version:

\documentclass[tikz,border=10pt]{standalone}
\usepackage{tikz}

\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}[marker/.style={circle,fill,draw,inner sep=1pt,pos=#1}]
\foreach \place/\angle/\name in {{(0,0)}/180/a,{(3,1)}/45/c,{(3,-1)}/-45/b}
{
\filldraw[black] \place circle (1.5pt) 
node[label={\angle:$\name$},inner sep=0pt](\name){};
}
\draw (a) edge[bend left=15] 
  node[marker=0.75](a-b){}% marking the path a-b: select the position [0,1]
  (b) ;
\draw (c) edge[bend right=15] 
  node[marker=0.7](c-b){}% marking the path c-b: select the position [0,1]
  (b) ;
\draw (c) edge[bend left=15](a);

\draw[red](a-b)--(c-b); % interconnecting the two markers
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}

The result: