point_configuration.py

r"""
Triangulations of a point configuration

A point configuration is a finite set of points in Euclidean space or,
more generally, in projective space. A triangulation is a simplicial
decomposition of the convex hull of a given point configuration such
that all vertices of the simplices end up lying on points of the
configuration. That is, there are no new vertices apart from the
initial points.

Note that points that are not vertices of the convex hull need not be
used in the triangulation. A triangulation that does make use of all
points of the configuration is called fine, and you can restrict
yourself to such triangulations if you want. See
:class:`PointConfiguration` and
:meth:`~PointConfiguration.restrict_to_fine_triangulations` for
more details.

Finding a single triangulation and listing all connected
triangulations is implemented natively in this package. However, for
more advanced options [TOPCOM]_ needs to be installed. It is available
as an optional package for Sage, and you can install it with the
command::

    sage: install_package('TOPCOM')     # not tested

.. note::

    TOPCOM and the internal algorithms tend to enumerate
    triangulations in a different order. This is why we always
    explicitly specify the engine as ``engine='TOPCOM'`` or
    ``engine='internal'`` in the doctests. In your own applications,
    you do not need to specify the engine. By default, TOPCOM is used
    if it is available and the internal algorithms are used otherwise.

EXAMPLES:

First, we select the internal implementation for enumerating
triangulations::

    sage: PointConfiguration.set_engine('internal')   # to make doctests independent of TOPCOM

A 2-dimensional point configuration::

    sage: p = PointConfiguration([[0,0],[0,1],[1,0],[1,1],[-1,-1]])
    sage: p
    A point configuration in QQ^2 consisting of 5 points. The
    triangulations of this point configuration are assumed to
    be connected, not necessarily fine, not necessarily regular.
    sage: t = p.triangulate()  # a single triangulation
    sage: t
    (<1,3,4>, <2,3,4>)
    sage: len(t)
    2
    sage: t[0]
    (1, 3, 4)
    sage: t[1]
    (2, 3, 4)
    sage: list(t)
    [(1, 3, 4), (2, 3, 4)]
    sage: t.plot(axes=False)
    sage: list( p.triangulations() )
    [(<1,3,4>, <2,3,4>),
     (<0,1,3>, <0,1,4>, <0,2,3>, <0,2,4>),
     (<1,2,3>, <1,2,4>),
     (<0,1,2>, <0,1,4>, <0,2,4>, <1,2,3>)]
    sage: p_fine = p.restrict_to_fine_triangulations()
    sage: p_fine
    A point configuration in QQ^2 consisting of 5 points. The
    triangulations of this point configuration are assumed to
    be connected, fine, not necessarily regular.
    sage: list( p_fine.triangulations() )
    [(<0,1,3>, <0,1,4>, <0,2,3>, <0,2,4>),
     (<0,1,2>, <0,1,4>, <0,2,4>, <1,2,3>)]

A 3-dimensional point configuration::

    sage: p = [[0,-1,-1],[0,0,1],[0,1,0], [1,-1,-1],[1,0,1],[1,1,0]]
    sage: points = PointConfiguration(p)
    sage: triang = points.triangulate()
    sage: triang.plot(axes=False)

The standard example of a non-regular triangulation::

    sage: p = PointConfiguration([[-1,-5/9],[0,10/9],[1,-5/9],[-2,-10/9],[0,20/9],[2,-10/9]])
    sage: regular = p.restrict_to_regular_triangulations(True).triangulations_list()      # optional - TOPCOM
    sage: nonregular = p.restrict_to_regular_triangulations(False).triangulations_list()  # optional - TOPCOM
    sage: len(regular)     # optional - TOPCOM
    16
    sage: len(nonregular)  # optional - TOPCOM
    2
    sage: nonregular[0].plot(aspect_ratio=1, axes=False)   # optional - TOPCOM

Note that the points need not be in general position. That is, the
points may lie in a hyperplane and the linear dependencies will be
removed before passing the data to TOPCOM which cannot handle it::

    sage: points = [[0,0,0,1],[0,3,0,1],[3,0,0,1],[0,0,1,1],[0,3,1,1],[3,0,1,1],[1,1,2,1]]
    sage: points = [ p+[1,2,3] for p in points ]
    sage: pc = PointConfiguration(points)
    sage: pc.ambient_dim()
    7
    sage: pc.dim()
    3
    sage: pc.triangulate()
    (<0,1,2,6>, <0,1,3,6>, <0,2,3,6>, <1,2,4,6>, <1,3,4,6>, <2,3,5,6>, <2,4,5,6>)
    sage: _ in pc.triangulations()
    True
    sage: len( pc.triangulations_list() )
    26

REFERENCES:

    .. [TOPCOM]
       J. Rambau,
       TOPCOM <http://www.rambau.wm.uni-bayreuth.de/TOPCOM/>.

    .. [GKZ]
       Gel'fand, I. M.; Kapranov, M. M.; and Zelevinsky, A. V.
       "Discriminants, Resultants and Multidimensional Determinants" Birkhauser 1994.

    .. [PUNTOS]
       Jesus A. De Loera
       http://www.math.ucdavis.edu/~deloera/RECENT_WORK/puntos2000

AUTHORS:

    - Volker Braun: initial version, 2010

    - Josh Whitney: added functionality for computing
      volumes and secondary polytopes of PointConfigurations

    - Marshall Hampton: improved documentation and doctest coverage

    - Volker Braun: rewrite using Parent/Element and catgories. Added
      a Point class. More doctests. Less zombies.

    - Volker Braun: Cythonized parts of it, added a C++ implementation
      of the bistellar flip algorithm to enumerate all connected
      triangulations.

    - Volker Braun 2011: switched the triangulate() method to the
      placing triangulation (faster).
"""

########################################################################
# Note: The doctests that make use of TOPCOM are
#       marked # optional - TOPCOM
#       If you have it installed, run doctests as
#
#   sage -tp 4 --long --optional=sage,topcom sage/geometry/triangulation/
########################################################################


########################################################################
#       Copyright (C) 2010 Volker Braun <[email protected]>
#       Copyright (C) 2010 Josh Whitney <[email protected]>
#       Copyright (C) 2010 Marshall Hampton <[email protected]>
#
#  Distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL)
#
#                  http://www.gnu.org/licenses/
########################################################################

from sage.structure.unique_representation import UniqueRepresentation
from sage.structure.element import Element
from sage.misc.cachefunc import cached_method

from sage.combinat.combination import Combinations
from sage.rings.all import QQ, ZZ
from sage.matrix.constructor import matrix
from sage.modules.all import vector
from sage.groups.perm_gps.permgroup import PermutationGroup

from copy import copy
import sys
import pexpect


from sage.geometry.triangulation.base import \
    PointConfiguration_base, Point, ConnectedTriangulationsIterator

from sage.geometry.triangulation.element import Triangulation


########################################################################
class PointConfiguration(UniqueRepresentation, PointConfiguration_base):
    """
    A collection of points in Euclidean (or projective) space.

    This is the parent class for the triangulations of the point
    configuration. There are a few options to specifically select what
    kind of triangulations are admissible.

    INPUT:

    The constructor accepts the following arguments:

    - ``points`` -- the points. Technically, any iterable of iterables
      will do. In particular, a :class:`PointConfiguration` can be passed.

    - ``projective`` -- boolean (default: ``False``). Whether the
      point coordinates should be interpreted as projective (``True``)
      or affine (``False``) coordinates. If necessary, points are
      projectivized by setting the last homogeneous coordinate to one
      and/or affine patches are chosen internally.

    - ``connected`` -- boolean (default: ``True``). Whether the
      triangulations should be connected to the regular triangulations
      via bistellar flips. These are much easier to compute than all
      triangulations.

    - ``fine`` -- boolean (default: ``False``). Whether the
      triangulations must be fine, that is, make use of all points of
      the configuration.

    - ``regular`` -- boolean or ``None`` (default: ``None``). Whether
      the triangulations must be regular. A regular triangulation is
      one that is induced by a piecewise-linear convex support
      function. In other words, the shadows of the faces of a
      polyhedron in one higher dimension.

        * ``True``: Only regular triangulations.

        * ``False``: Only non-regular triangulations.

        * ``None`` (default): Both kinds of triangulation.

    - ``star`` -- either ``None`` or a point. Whether the
      triangulations must be star. A triangulation is star if all
      maximal simplices contain a common point. The central point can
      be specified by its index (an integer) in the given points or by
      its coordinates (anything iterable.)

    EXAMPLES::

        sage: p = PointConfiguration([[0,0],[0,1],[1,0],[1,1],[-1,-1]])
        sage: p
        A point configuration in QQ^2 consisting of 5 points. The
        triangulations of this point configuration are assumed to
        be connected, not necessarily fine, not necessarily regular.
        sage: p.triangulate()  # a single triangulation
        (<1,3,4>, <2,3,4>)
    """


    # we cache the output of _have_TOPCOM() in this class variable
    _have_TOPCOM_cached = None

    # whether to use TOPCOM. Will be set to True or False during
    # initialization. All implementations should check this boolean
    # variable to decide whether to call TOPCOM or not
    _use_TOPCOM = None


    @classmethod
    def _have_TOPCOM(cls):
        r"""
        Return whether TOPCOM is installed.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: PointConfiguration._have_TOPCOM()    # optional - TOPCOM
            True
        """
        if PointConfiguration._have_TOPCOM_cached != None:
            return PointConfiguration._have_TOPCOM_cached

        try:
            out = PointConfiguration._TOPCOM_exec('points2placingtriang',
                                                  '[[0,1],[1,1]]', verbose=False).next()
            PointConfiguration._have_TOPCOM_cached = True
            assert out=='{{0,1}}',\
                'TOPCOM ran but did not produce the correct output!'
        except pexpect.ExceptionPexpect:
            PointConfiguration._have_TOPCOM_cached = False

        PointConfiguration.set_engine('auto')
        return PointConfiguration._have_TOPCOM_cached


    @staticmethod
    def __classcall__(cls, points, projective=False, connected=True, fine=False, regular=None, star=None):
        r"""
        Normalize the constructor arguments to be unique keys.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: pc1 = PointConfiguration([[1,2],[2,3],[3,4]], connected=True)
            sage: pc2 = PointConfiguration(((1,2),(2,3),(3,4)), regular=None)
            sage: pc1 is pc2   # indirect doctest
            True
        """
        if isinstance(points, PointConfiguration_base):
            pc = points
            points = tuple( p.projective() for p in points )
            projective = True
            defined_affine = pc.is_affine()
        elif projective:
            points = tuple( tuple(p) for p in points )
            defined_affine = False
        else:
            points = tuple( tuple(p)+(1,) for p in points )
            defined_affine = True
        if star!=None and star not in ZZ:
            star_point = tuple(star)
            if len(star_point)<len(points[0]):
                star_point = tuple(star)+(1,)
            star = points.index(star_point)
        return super(PointConfiguration, cls)\
            .__classcall__(cls, points, connected, fine, regular, star, defined_affine)


    def __init__(self, points, connected, fine, regular, star, defined_affine):
        """
        Initialize a :class:`PointConfiguration` object.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[0,4],[2,3],[3,2],[4,0],[3,-2],[2,-3],[0,-4],[-2,-3],[-3,-2],[-4,0],[-3,2],[-2,3]])
            sage: len(p.triangulations_list())  # long time (26s on sage.math, 2012)
            16796

        TESTS::

            sage: TestSuite(p).run()
        """
        # first, test if we have TOPCOM and set up class variables accordingly
        PointConfiguration._have_TOPCOM()

        assert connected in [True, False], 'Unknown value: connected='+str(connected)
        self._connected = connected
        if connected!=True and not PointConfiguration._have_TOPCOM():
            raise ValueError, 'You must install TOPCOM to find non-connected triangulations.'

        assert fine in [True, False], 'Unknown value: fine='+str(fine)
        self._fine = fine

        assert regular in [True, False, None], 'Unknown value: regular='+str(regular)
        self._regular = regular
        if regular!=None and not PointConfiguration._have_TOPCOM():
           raise ValueError, 'You must install TOPCOM to test for regularity.'

        assert star==None or star in ZZ, 'Unknown value: fine='+str(star)
        self._star = star

        PointConfiguration_base.__init__(self, points, defined_affine)


    @classmethod
    def set_engine(cls, engine='auto'):
        r"""
        Set the engine used to compute triangulations.

        INPUT:

        - ``engine`` -- either 'auto' (default), 'internal', or
          'TOPCOM'. The latter two instruct this package to always use
          its own triangulation algorithms or TOPCOM's algorithms,
          respectively. By default ('auto'), TOPCOM is used if it is
          available and internal routines otherwise.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[0,0],[0,1],[1,0],[1,1],[-1,-1]])
            sage: p.set_engine('internal')   # to make doctests independent of TOPCOM
            sage: p.triangulate()
            (<1,3,4>, <2,3,4>)
            sage: p.set_engine('TOPCOM')   # optional - TOPCOM
            sage: p.triangulate()          # optional - TOPCOM
            (<0,1,2>, <0,1,4>, <0,2,4>, <1,2,3>)
            sage: p.set_engine('internal') # optional - TOPCOM
        """
        if engine not in ['auto', 'TOPCOM', 'internal']:
            raise ValueError, 'Unknown value for "engine": '+str(engine)

        have_TOPCOM = PointConfiguration._have_TOPCOM()
        PointConfiguration._use_TOPCOM = \
            (engine=='TOPCOM') or (engine=='auto' and have_TOPCOM)


    def star_center(self):
        r"""
        Return the center used for star triangulations.

        .. seealso:: :meth:`restrict_to_star_triangulations`.

        OUTPUT:

        A :class:`~sage.geometry.triangulation.base.Point` if a
        distinguished star central point has been fixed.
        ``ValueError`` exception is raised otherwise.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: pc = PointConfiguration([(1,0),(-1,0),(0,1),(0,2)], star=(0,1)); pc
            A point configuration in QQ^2 consisting of 4 points. The
            triangulations of this point configuration are assumed to be
            connected, not necessarily fine, not necessarily regular, and
            star with center P(0, 1).
            sage: pc.star_center()
            P(0, 1)

            sage: pc_nostar = pc.restrict_to_star_triangulations(None)
            sage: pc_nostar
            A point configuration in QQ^2 consisting of 4 points. The
            triangulations of this point configuration are assumed to be
            connected, not necessarily fine, not necessarily regular.
            sage: pc_nostar.star_center()
            Traceback (most recent call last):
            ...
            ValueError: The point configuration has no star center defined.
        """
        if self._star is None:
            raise ValueError, 'The point configuration has no star center defined.'
        else:
            return self[self._star]


    def __reduce__(self):
        r"""
        Override __reduce__ to correctly pickle/unpickle.

        TESTS::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[0, 1], [0, 0], [1, 0], [1,1]])
            sage: loads(p.dumps()) is p
            True

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[0, 1, 1], [0, 0, 1], [1, 0, 1], [1,1, 1]], projective=True)
            sage: loads(p.dumps()) is p
            True
        """
        if self.is_affine():
            points = tuple( p.affine() for p in self )
            return (PointConfiguration, (points, False,
                                         self._connected, self._fine, self._regular, self._star))
        else:
            points = tuple( p.projective() for p in self )
            return (PointConfiguration, (points, True,
                                         self._connected, self._fine, self._regular, self._star))


    def an_element(self):
        """
        Synonymous for :meth:`triangulate`.

        TESTS::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[0, 1], [0, 0], [1, 0], [1,1]])
            sage: p.an_element()
            (<0,1,3>, <1,2,3>)
        """
        return self.triangulate()


    def _element_constructor_(self, e):
        """
        Construct a triangulation.

        TESTS::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[0, 1], [0, 0], [1, 0], [1,1]])
            sage: p._element_constructor_([ (0,1,2), (2,3,0) ])
            (<0,1,2>, <0,2,3>)
        """
        return self.element_class(e, parent=self)


    Element = Triangulation


    def __iter__(self):
        """
        Iterate through the points of the point configuration.

        OUTPUT:

        Returns projective coordinates of the points. See also the
        ``PointConfiguration.points()`` method, which returns affine
        coordinates.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[1,1], [2,2], [3,3]]);
            sage: list(p)     # indirect doctest
            [P(1, 1), P(2, 2), P(3, 3)]
            sage: [ p[i] for i in range(0,p.n_points()) ]
            [P(1, 1), P(2, 2), P(3, 3)]
            sage: list(p.points())
            [P(1, 1), P(2, 2), P(3, 3)]
            sage: [ p.point(i) for i in range(0,p.n_points()) ]
            [P(1, 1), P(2, 2), P(3, 3)]
        """
        for p in self.points():
            yield p


    def _repr_(self):
        r"""
        Return a string representation.

        TESTS::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[1,1,1],[-1,1,1],[1,-1,1],[-1,-1,1],[1,1,-1],
            ...                           [-1,1,-1],[1,-1,-1],[-1,-1,-1],[0,0,0]])
            sage: p._repr_()
            'A point configuration in QQ^3 consisting of 9 points. The triangulations
            of this point configuration are assumed to be connected, not necessarily
            fine, not necessarily regular.'

            sage: PointConfiguration([[1, 1, 1], [-1, 1, 1], [1, -1, 1], [-1, -1, 1]], projective=True)
            A point configuration in P(QQ^3) consisting of 4 points. The triangulations
            of this point configuration are assumed to be connected, not necessarily
            fine, not necessarily regular.
        """
        s = 'A point configuration'
        if self.is_affine():
            s += ' in QQ^'+str(self.ambient_dim())
        else:
            s += ' in P(QQ^'+str(self.ambient_dim()+1)+')'
        if len(self)==1:
            s += ' consisting of '+str(len(self))+' point. '
        else:
            s += ' consisting of '+str(len(self))+' points. '

        s += 'The triangulations of this point configuration are assumed to be'

        if self._connected:
            s += ' connected,'
        else:
            s += ' not necessarily connected,'

        if self._fine:
            s += ' fine,'
        else:
            s += ' not necessarily fine,'

        if self._regular==True:
            s += ' regular'
        elif self._regular==False:
            s += ' irregular'
        else:
            s += ' not necessarily regular'

        if self._star==None:
            s += '.'
        else:
            s += ', and star with center '+str(self.star_center())+'.'
        return s


    def _TOPCOM_points(self):
        r"""
        Convert the list of input points to a string that can be fed
        to TOPCOM.

        TESTS::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[1,1,1], [-1,1,1], [1,-1,1], [-1,-1,1], [1,1,-1]])
            sage: p._TOPCOM_points()
            '[[0,0,0,1],[-2,0,0,1],[0,-2,0,1],[-2,-2,0,1],[0,0,-2,1]]'
        """
        s = '['
        s += ','.join([
                '[' + ','.join(map(str,p.reduced_projective())) + ']'
                for p in self ])
        s += ']'
        return s


    @classmethod
    def _TOPCOM_exec(cls, executable, input_string, verbose=True):
        r"""
        Run TOPCOM.

        INPUT:

        - ``executable`` -- string. The name of the executable.

        - ``input_string`` -- string. Will be piped into the running
          executable's stdin.

        - ``verbose`` -- boolean. Whether to print out the TOPCOM
          interaction.

        TESTS::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[1,1,1], [-1,1,1], [1,-1,1], [-1,-1,1], [1,1,-1]])
            sage: out = p._TOPCOM_exec('points2placingtriang', '[[0,0,0,1],[-2,0,0,1],[0,-2,0,1],[-2,-2,0,1],[0,0,-2,1]]', verbose=True)
            sage: list(out)       # optional - TOPCOM
            #### TOPCOM input ####
            # points2placingtriang
            # [[0,0,0,1],[-2,0,0,1],[0,-2,0,1],[-2,-2,0,1],[0,0,-2,1]]
            #### TOPCOM output ####
            # {{0,1,2,4},{1,2,3,4}}
            #######################
            ['{{0,1,2,4},{1,2,3,4}}']
        """
        timeout = 600
        proc = pexpect.spawn(executable, timeout=timeout)
        proc.expect('Evaluating Commandline Options \.\.\.')
        proc.expect('\.\.\. done\.')
        proc.setecho(0)
        assert proc.readline().strip() == ''

        if verbose:
            print "#### TOPCOM input ####"
            print "# " + executable
            print "# " + input_string
            sys.stdout.flush()

        proc.send(input_string)
        proc.send('X\nX\n')

        if verbose:
            print "#### TOPCOM output ####"
            sys.stdout.flush()

        while True:
            try:
                line = proc.readline().strip()
            except pexpect.TIMEOUT:
                if verbose:
                    print '# Still runnnig '+str(executable)
                continue
            if len(line)==0: # EOF
                break;
            if verbose:
                print "# " + line
                sys.stdout.flush()

            try:
                yield line.strip()
            except GeneratorExit:
                proc.close(force=True)
                raise StopIteration

        if verbose:
            print "#######################"
            sys.stdout.flush()


    def _TOPCOM_communicate(self, executable, verbose=True):
        r"""
        Execute TOPCOM and parse the output into a
        :class:`~sage.geometry.triangulation.element.Triangulation`.

        TESTS::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[1,1,1], [-1,1,1], [1,-1,1], [-1,-1,1], [1,1,-1]])
            sage: out = p._TOPCOM_communicate('points2placingtriang', verbose=True)
            sage: list(out)       # optional - TOPCOM
            #### TOPCOM input ####
            # points2placingtriang
            # [[0,0,0,1],[-2,0,0,1],[0,-2,0,1],[-2,-2,0,1],[0,0,-2,1]]
            #### TOPCOM output ####
            # {{0,1,2,4},{1,2,3,4}}
            #######################
            [(<0,1,2,4>, <1,2,3,4>)]
        """
        for line in self._TOPCOM_exec(executable,
                                      self._TOPCOM_points(), verbose):
            triangulation = line[ line.find('{{')+2 : line.rfind('}}') ]
            triangulation = triangulation.split('},{')
            triangulation = [ [ QQ(t) for t in triangle.split(',') ]
                              for triangle in triangulation ]

            if self._star!=None:
                o = self._star
                if not all( t.count(o)>0 for t in triangulation):
                    continue

            yield self(triangulation)


    def _TOPCOM_triangulations(self, verbose=True):
        r"""
        Returns all triangulations satisfying the restrictions imposed.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[0,0],[0,1],[1,0],[1,1],[-1,-1]])
            sage: iter = p._TOPCOM_triangulations(verbose=True)
            sage: iter.next()     # optional - TOPCOM
            #### TOPCOM input ####
            # points2triangs
            # [[0,0,1],[0,1,1],[1,0,1],[1,1,1],[-1,-1,1]]
            #### TOPCOM output ####
            # T[1]:=[5,3:{{0,1,2},{1,2,3},{0,2,4},{0,1,4}}];
            (<0,1,2>, <0,1,4>, <0,2,4>, <1,2,3>)
        """
        command = 'points2'

        if not self._connected:
            command += 'all'

        if self._fine:
            command += 'fine'

        command += 'triangs'

        if self._regular==True:
            command += ' --regular'
        if self._regular==False:
            command += ' --nonregular'

        for t in self._TOPCOM_communicate(command, verbose):
            yield t


    def _TOPCOM_triangulate(self, verbose=True):
        r"""
        Return one (in no particular order) triangulation subject
        to all restrictions imposed previously.

        INPUT:

        - ``verbose`` -- boolean. Whether to print out the TOPCOM
          interaction.

        OUTPUT:

        A :class:`~sage.geometry.triangulation.element.Triangulation`
        satisfying all restrictions imposed. Raises a ``ValueError``
        if no such triangulation exists.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[0,0],[0,1],[1,0],[1,1],[-1,-1]])
            sage: p.set_engine('TOPCOM')                 # optional - TOPCOM
            sage: p._TOPCOM_triangulate(verbose=False)   # optional - TOPCOM
            (<0,1,2>, <0,1,4>, <0,2,4>, <1,2,3>)
            sage: list( p.triangulate() )                # optional - TOPCOM
            [(0, 1, 2), (0, 1, 4), (0, 2, 4), (1, 2, 3)]
            sage: p.set_engine('internal')               # optional - TOPCOM
        """
        assert self._regular!=False, \
            'When asked for a single triangulation TOPCOM ' + \
            'always returns a regular triangulation.'

        command = "points2"
        if self._fine:
            command += "finetriang"
        else:
            command += "placingtriang"

        return self._TOPCOM_communicate(command, verbose).next()


    def restrict_to_regular_triangulations(self, regular=True):
        """
        Restrict to regular triangulations.

        NOTE:

        Regularity testing requires the optional TOPCOM package.

        INPUT:

        - ``regular`` -- ``True``, ``False``, or ``None``. Whether to
          restrict to regular triangulations, irregular
          triangulations, or lift any restrictions on regularity.

        OUTPUT:

        A new :class:`PointConfiguration` with the same points, but
        whose triangulations will all be regular as specified. See
        :class:`PointConfiguration` for details.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[0,0],[0,1],[1,0],[1,1],[-1,-1]])
            sage: p
            A point configuration in QQ^2 consisting of 5 points. The
            triangulations of this point configuration are assumed to
            be connected, not necessarily fine, not necessarily regular.
            sage: len(p.triangulations_list())
            4
            sage: p_regular = p.restrict_to_regular_triangulations() # optional - TOPCOM
            sage: len(p_regular.triangulations_list())               # optional - TOPCOM
            4
            sage: p == p_regular.restrict_to_regular_triangulations(regular=None) # optional - TOPCOM
            True
        """
        return PointConfiguration(self,
                                  connected=self._connected,
                                  fine=self._fine,
                                  regular=regular,
                                  star=self._star)


    def restrict_to_connected_triangulations(self, connected=True):
        """
        Restrict to connected triangulations.

        NOTE:

        Finding non-connected triangulations requires the optional
        TOPCOM package.

        INPUT:

        - ``connected`` -- boolean. Whether to restrict to
          triangulations that are connected by bistellar flips to the
          regular triangulations.

        OUTPUT:

        A new :class:`PointConfiguration` with the same points, but
        whose triangulations will all be in the connected
        component. See :class:`PointConfiguration` for details.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[0,0],[0,1],[1,0],[1,1],[-1,-1]])
            sage: p
            A point configuration in QQ^2 consisting of 5 points. The
            triangulations of this point configuration are assumed to
            be connected, not necessarily fine, not necessarily regular.
            sage: len(p.triangulations_list())
            4
            sage: p_all = p.restrict_to_connected_triangulations(connected=False)  # optional - TOPCOM
            sage: len(p_all.triangulations_list())                                 # optional - TOPCOM
            4
            sage: p == p_all.restrict_to_connected_triangulations(connected=True)  # optional - TOPCOM
            True
        """
        return PointConfiguration(self,
                                  connected=connected,
                                  fine=self._fine,
                                  regular=self._regular,
                                  star=self._star)


    def restrict_to_fine_triangulations(self, fine=True):
        """
        Restrict to fine triangulations.

        INPUT:

        - ``fine`` -- boolean. Whether to restrict to fine triangulations.

        OUTPUT:

        A new :class:`PointConfiguration` with the same points, but
        whose triangulations will all be fine. See
        :class:`PointConfiguration` for details.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[0,0],[0,1],[1,0],[1,1],[-1,-1]])
            sage: p
            A point configuration in QQ^2 consisting of 5 points. The
            triangulations of this point configuration are assumed to
            be connected, not necessarily fine, not necessarily regular.
            sage: len(p.triangulations_list())
            4
            sage: p_fine = p.restrict_to_fine_triangulations()
            sage: len(p.triangulations_list())
            4
            sage: p == p_fine.restrict_to_fine_triangulations(fine=False)
            True
        """
        return PointConfiguration(self,
                                  connected=self._connected,
                                  fine=fine,
                                  regular=self._regular,
                                  star=self._star)


    def restrict_to_star_triangulations(self, star):
        """
        Restrict to star triangulations with the given point as the
        center.

        INPUT:

        - ``origin`` -- ``None`` or an integer or the coordinates of a
          point. An integer denotes the index of the central point. If
          ``None`` is passed, any restriction on the starshape will be
          removed.

        OUTPUT:

        A new :class:`PointConfiguration` with the same points, but
        whose triangulations will all be star. See
        :class:`PointConfiguration` for details.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[0,0],[0,1],[1,0],[1,1],[-1,-1]])
            sage: len(list( p.triangulations() ))
            4
            sage: p_star =  p.restrict_to_star_triangulations(0)
            sage: p_star is p.restrict_to_star_triangulations((0,0))
            True
            sage: p_star.triangulations_list()
            [(<0,1,3>, <0,1,4>, <0,2,3>, <0,2,4>)]
            sage: p_newstar = p_star.restrict_to_star_triangulations(1)  # pick different origin
            sage: p_newstar.triangulations_list()
            [(<1,2,3>, <1,2,4>)]
            sage: p == p_star.restrict_to_star_triangulations(star=None)
            True
        """
        return PointConfiguration(self,
                                  connected=self._connected,
                                  fine=self._fine,
                                  regular=self._regular,
                                  star=star)


    def triangulations(self, verbose=False):
        r"""
        Returns all triangulations.

        - ``verbose`` -- boolean (default: ``False``). Whether to
          print out the TOPCOM interaction, if any.

        OUTPUT:

        A generator for the triangulations satisfying all the
        restrictions imposed. Each triangulation is returned as a
        :class:`~sage.geometry.triangulation.element.Triangulation` object.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[0,0],[0,1],[1,0],[1,1],[-1,-1]])
            sage: iter = p.triangulations()
            sage: iter.next()
            (<1,3,4>, <2,3,4>)
            sage: iter.next()
            (<0,1,3>, <0,1,4>, <0,2,3>, <0,2,4>)
            sage: iter.next()
            (<1,2,3>, <1,2,4>)
            sage: iter.next()
            (<0,1,2>, <0,1,4>, <0,2,4>, <1,2,3>)
            sage: p.triangulations_list()
            [(<1,3,4>, <2,3,4>),
             (<0,1,3>, <0,1,4>, <0,2,3>, <0,2,4>),
             (<1,2,3>, <1,2,4>),
             (<0,1,2>, <0,1,4>, <0,2,4>, <1,2,3>)]
            sage: p_fine = p.restrict_to_fine_triangulations()
            sage: p_fine.triangulations_list()
            [(<0,1,3>, <0,1,4>, <0,2,3>, <0,2,4>),
             (<0,1,2>, <0,1,4>, <0,2,4>, <1,2,3>)]

         Note that we explicitly asked the internal algorithm to
         compute the triangulations. Using TOPCOM, we obtain the same
         triangulations but in a different order::

            sage: p.set_engine('TOPCOM')                       # optional - TOPCOM
            sage: iter = p.triangulations()                    # optional - TOPCOM
            sage: iter.next()                                  # optional - TOPCOM
            (<0,1,2>, <0,1,4>, <0,2,4>, <1,2,3>)
            sage: iter.next()                                  # optional - TOPCOM
            (<0,1,3>, <0,1,4>, <0,2,3>, <0,2,4>)
            sage: iter.next()                                  # optional - TOPCOM
            (<1,2,3>, <1,2,4>)
            sage: iter.next()                                  # optional - TOPCOM
            (<1,3,4>, <2,3,4>)
            sage: p.triangulations_list()                      # optional - TOPCOM
            [(<0,1,2>, <0,1,4>, <0,2,4>, <1,2,3>),
             (<0,1,3>, <0,1,4>, <0,2,3>, <0,2,4>),
             (<1,2,3>, <1,2,4>),
             (<1,3,4>, <2,3,4>)]
            sage: p_fine = p.restrict_to_fine_triangulations() # optional - TOPCOM
            sage: p_fine.set_engine('TOPCOM')                  # optional - TOPCOM
            sage: p_fine.triangulations_list()                 # optional - TOPCOM
            [(<0,1,2>, <0,1,4>, <0,2,4>, <1,2,3>),
             (<0,1,3>, <0,1,4>, <0,2,3>, <0,2,4>)]
            sage: p.set_engine('internal')                     # optional - TOPCOM
        """
        if self._use_TOPCOM:
            for triangulation in self._TOPCOM_triangulations(verbose):
                yield triangulation
        else:
            if (self._connected!=True):
                raise ValueError, 'Need TOPCOM to find disconnected triangulations.'
            if (self._regular!=None):
                raise ValueError, 'Need TOPCOM to test for regularity.'
            ci = ConnectedTriangulationsIterator(self, star=self._star, fine=self._fine)
            for encoded_triangulation in ci:
                yield self(encoded_triangulation)


    def triangulations_list(self, verbose=False):
        r"""
        Return all triangulations.

        INPUT:

        - ``verbose`` -- boolean. Whether to print out the TOPCOM
          interaction, if any.

        OUTPUT:

        A list of triangulations (see
        :class:`~sage.geometry.triangulation.element.Triangulation`)
        satisfying all restrictions imposed previously.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[0,0],[0,1],[1,0],[1,1]])
            sage: p.triangulations_list()
            [(<0,1,2>, <1,2,3>), (<0,1,3>, <0,2,3>)]
            sage: map(list, p.triangulations_list() )
            [[(0, 1, 2), (1, 2, 3)], [(0, 1, 3), (0, 2, 3)]]
            sage: p.set_engine('TOPCOM')       # optional - TOPCOM
            sage: p.triangulations_list()      # optional - TOPCOM
            [(<0,1,2>, <1,2,3>), (<0,1,3>, <0,2,3>)]
            sage: p.set_engine('internal')     # optional - TOPCOM
        """
        return list(self.triangulations(verbose))


    def triangulate(self, verbose=False):
        r"""
        Return one (in no particular order) triangulation.

        INPUT:

        - ``verbose`` -- boolean. Whether to print out the TOPCOM
          interaction, if any.

        OUTPUT:

        A :class:`~sage.geometry.triangulation.element.Triangulation`
        satisfying all restrictions imposed. Raises a ``ValueError``
        if no such triangulation exists.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[0,0],[0,1],[1,0],[1,1],[-1,-1]])
            sage: p.triangulate()
            (<1,3,4>, <2,3,4>)
            sage: list( p.triangulate() )
            [(1, 3, 4), (2, 3, 4)]

        Using TOPCOM yields a different, but equally good, triangulation::

            sage: p.set_engine('TOPCOM')           # optional - TOPCOM
            sage: p.triangulate()                  # optional - TOPCOM
            (<0,1,2>, <0,1,4>, <0,2,4>, <1,2,3>)
            sage: list( p.triangulate() )          # optional - TOPCOM
            [(0, 1, 2), (0, 1, 4), (0, 2, 4), (1, 2, 3)]
            sage: p.set_engine('internal')         # optional - TOPCOM
        """
        if self._use_TOPCOM and self._regular!=False:
            try:
                return self._TOPCOM_triangulate(verbose)
            except StopIteration:
                # either topcom did not return a triangulation or we filtered it out
                pass

        if self._connected and not self._fine and self._regular!=False and self._star==None:
            return self.placing_triangulation()

        try:
            return self.triangulations(verbose).next()
        except StopIteration:
            # there is no triangulation
            pass
        raise ValueError, 'No triangulation with the required properties.'


    def convex_hull(self):
        """
        Return the convex hull of the point configuration.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[0,0],[0,1],[1,0],[1,1],[-1,-1]])
            sage: p.convex_hull()
            A 2-dimensional polyhedron in ZZ^2 defined as the convex hull of 4 vertices
        """
        try:
            return self._polyhedron
        except AttributeError:
            pass

        from sage.geometry.polyhedron.constructor import Polyhedron
        pts = [ p.reduced_affine() for p in self.points() ];
        self._polyhedron = Polyhedron(vertices=pts);
        return self._polyhedron


    def restricted_automorphism_group(self):
        r"""
        Return the restricted automorphism group.

        First, let the linear automorphism group be the subgroup of
        the Euclidean group `E(d) = GL(d,\RR) \ltimes \RR^d`
        preserving the `d`-dimensional point configuration. The
        Euclidean group acts in the usual way `\vec{x}\mapsto
        A\vec{x}+b` on the ambient space.

        The restricted automorphism group is the subgroup of the
        linear automorphism group generated by permutations of
        points. See [BSS]_ for more details and a description of the
        algorithm.

        OUTPUT:

        A
        :class:`PermutationGroup<sage.groups.perm_gps.permgroup.PermutationGroup_generic>`
        that is isomorphic to the restricted automorphism group is
        returned.

        Note that in Sage, permutation groups always act on positive
        integers while lists etc. are indexed by nonnegative
        integers. The indexing of the permutation group is chosen to
        be shifted by ``+1``. That is, the transposition ``(i,j)`` in
        the permutation group corresponds to exchange of ``self[i-1]``
        and ``self[j-1]``.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: pyramid = PointConfiguration([[1,0,0],[0,1,1],[0,1,-1],[0,-1,-1],[0,-1,1]])
            sage: pyramid.restricted_automorphism_group()
            Permutation Group with generators [(3,5), (2,3)(4,5), (2,4)]
            sage: DihedralGroup(4).is_isomorphic(_)
            True

        The square with an off-center point in the middle. Note thath
        the middle point breaks the restricted automorphism group
        `D_4` of the convex hull::

            sage: square = PointConfiguration([(3/4,3/4),(1,1),(1,-1),(-1,-1),(-1,1)])
            sage: square.restricted_automorphism_group()
            Permutation Group with generators [(3,5)]
            sage: DihedralGroup(1).is_isomorphic(_)
            True
        """
        if '_restricted_automorphism_group' in self.__dict__:
            return self._restricted_automorphism_group

        v_list = [ vector(p.projective()) for p in self ]
        Qinv = sum( v.column() * v.row() for v in v_list ).inverse()

        # construct the graph
        from sage.graphs.graph import Graph

        # Was set to sparse = False, but there is a problem with Graph
        # backends. It should probably be set back to sparse = False as soon as
        # the backends are fixed.
        G = Graph(sparse=True)
        for i in range(0,len(v_list)):
            for j in range(i+1,len(v_list)):
                v_i = v_list[i]
                v_j = v_list[j]
                G.add_edge(i+1,j+1, v_i * Qinv * v_j)

        group = G.automorphism_group(edge_labels=True)
        self._restricted_automorphism_group = group
        return group


    def face_codimension(self, point):
        r"""
        Return the smallest `d\in\mathbb{Z}` such that ``point`` is
        contained in the interior of a codimension-`d` face.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: triangle = PointConfiguration([[0,0], [1,-1], [1,0], [1,1]]);
            sage: triangle.point(2)
            P(1, 0)
            sage: triangle.face_codimension(2)
            1
            sage: triangle.face_codimension( [1,0] )
            1

        This also works for degenerate cases like the tip of the
        pyramid over a square (which saturates four inequalities)::

            sage: pyramid = PointConfiguration([[1,0,0],[0,1,1],[0,1,-1],[0,-1,-1],[0,-1,1]])
            sage: pyramid.face_codimension(0)
            3
        """
        try:
            p = vector(self.point(point).reduced_affine())
        except TypeError:
            p = vector(point);

        inequalities = []
        for ieq in self.convex_hull().inequality_generator():
            if (ieq.A()*p + ieq.b() == 0):
                inequalities += [ ieq.vector() ];
        return matrix(inequalities).rank();


    def face_interior(self, dim=None, codim=None):
        """
        Return points by the codimension of the containing face in the convex hull.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: triangle = PointConfiguration([[-1,0], [0,0], [1,-1], [1,0], [1,1]]);
            sage: triangle.face_interior()
            ((1,), (3,), (0, 2, 4))
            sage: triangle.face_interior(dim=0)    # the vertices of the convex hull
            (0, 2, 4)
            sage: triangle.face_interior(codim=1)  # interior of facets
            (3,)
        """
        assert not (dim!=None and codim!=None), "You cannot specify both dim and codim."

        if (dim!=None):
            return self.face_interior()[self.convex_hull().dim()-dim]
        if (codim!=None):
            return self.face_interior()[codim]

        try:
            return self._face_interior
        except AttributeError:
            pass

        d = [ self.face_codimension(i) for i in range(0,self.n_points()) ]

        return tuple( tuple(filter( lambda i: d[i]==codim, range(0,self.n_points())) )
                      for codim in range(0,self.dim()+1) )


    def exclude_points(self, point_idx_list):
        """
        Return a new point configuration with the given points
        removed.

        INPUT:

        - ``point_idx_list`` -- a list of integers. The indices of
          points to exclude.

        OUTPUT:

        A new :class:`PointConfiguration` with the given points
        removed.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[-1,0], [0,0], [1,-1], [1,0], [1,1]]);
            sage: list(p)
            [P(-1, 0), P(0, 0), P(1, -1), P(1, 0), P(1, 1)]
            sage: q = p.exclude_points([3])
            sage: list(q)
            [P(-1, 0), P(0, 0), P(1, -1), P(1, 1)]
            sage: p.exclude_points( p.face_interior(codim=1) ).points()
            (P(-1, 0), P(0, 0), P(1, -1), P(1, 1))
        """
        points = [ self.point(i) for i in range(0,self.n_points())
                   if not i in point_idx_list ]
        return PointConfiguration(points,
                                  projective=False,
                                  connected=self._connected,
                                  fine=self._fine,
                                  regular=self._regular,
                                  star=self._star)


    def volume(self, simplex=None):
        """
        Find n! times the n-volume of a simplex of dimension n.

        INPUT:

        - ``simplex`` (optional argument) -- a simplex from a
          triangulation T specified as a list of point indices.

        OUTPUT:

        * If a simplex was passed as an argument: n!*(volume of ``simplex``).

        * Without argument: n!*(the total volume of the convex hull).

        EXAMPLES:

        The volume of the standard simplex should always be 1::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[0,0],[1,0],[0,1],[1,1]])
            sage: p.volume( [0,1,2] )
            1
            sage: simplex = p.triangulate()[0]  # first simplex of triangulation
            sage: p.volume(simplex)
            1

        The square can be triangulated into two minimal simplices, so
        in the "integral" normalization its volume equals two::

            sage: p.volume()
            2

        .. note::

            We return n!*(metric volume of the simplex) to ensure that
            the volume is an integer.  Essentially, this normalizes
            things so that the volume of the standard n-simplex is 1.
            See [GKZ]_ page 182.
        """
        if (simplex==None):
            return sum([ self.volume(s) for s in self.triangulate() ])

        #Form a matrix whose columns are the points of simplex
        #with the first point of simplex shifted to the origin.
        v = [ self.point(i).reduced_affine_vector() for i in simplex ]
        m = matrix([ v_i - v[0] for v_i in v[1:] ])
        return abs(m.det())


    def secondary_polytope(self):
        r"""
        Calculate the secondary polytope of the point configuration.

        For a definition of the secondary polytope, see [GKZ]_ page 220
        Definition 1.6.

        Note that if you restricted the admissible triangulations of
        the point configuration then the output will be the
        corresponding face of the whole secondary polytope.

        OUTPUT:

        The secondary polytope of the point configuration as an
        instance of
        :class:`~sage.geometry.polyhedron.base.Polyhedron_base`.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([[0,0],[1,0],[2,1],[1,2],[0,1]])
            sage: poly = p.secondary_polytope()
            sage: poly.vertices_matrix()
            [1 1 3 3 5]
            [3 5 1 4 1]
            [4 2 5 2 4]
            [2 4 2 5 4]
            [5 3 4 1 1]
            sage: poly.Vrepresentation()
            (A vertex at (1, 3, 4, 2, 5),
             A vertex at (1, 5, 2, 4, 3),
             A vertex at (3, 1, 5, 2, 4),
             A vertex at (3, 4, 2, 5, 1),
             A vertex at (5, 1, 4, 4, 1))
            sage: poly.Hrepresentation()
            (An equation (0, 0, 1, 2, 1) x - 13 == 0,
             An equation (1, 0, 0, 2, 2) x - 15 == 0,
             An equation (0, 1, 0, -3, -2) x + 13 == 0,
             An inequality (0, 0, 0, -1, -1) x + 7 >= 0,
             An inequality (0, 0, 0, 1, 0) x - 2 >= 0,
             An inequality (0, 0, 0, -2, -1) x + 11 >= 0,
             An inequality (0, 0, 0, 0, 1) x - 1 >= 0,
             An inequality (0, 0, 0, 3, 2) x - 14 >= 0)
        """
        from sage.geometry.polyhedron.constructor import Polyhedron
        #TODO: once restriction to regular triangulations is fixed,
        #change the next line to only take the regular triangulations,
        #since they are the vertices of the secondary polytope anyway.
        l = self.triangulations_list()
        return Polyhedron(vertices = [x.gkz_phi() for x in l])


    def circuits_support(self):
        r"""
        A generator for the supports of the circuits of the point configuration.

        See :meth:`circuits` for details.

        OUTPUT:

        A generator for the supports `C_-\cup C_+` (returned as a
        Python tuple) for all circuits of the point configuration.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([(0,0),(+1,0),(-1,0),(0,+1),(0,-1)])
            sage: list( p.circuits_support() )
            [(0, 3, 4), (0, 1, 2), (1, 2, 3, 4)]
        """
        n = len(self)
        U = [ self[i].reduced_projective() for i in range(0,n) ]

        # the index set of U
        I = set(range(0,n))
        # The (indices of) known independent elements of U
        independent_k = [ (i,) for i in range(0,n) ]
        supports_k = []

        supports = ()   # supports of circuits
        for k in range(2, self.dim()+3):

            # possibly linear dependent subsets
            supports_knext = set()
            possible_dependency = set()
            for indep in independent_k:
                indep_plus_one = [ tuple(sorted(indep+(i,))) for i in (I-set(indep)) ]
                possible_dependency.update(indep_plus_one)
            for supp in supports_k:
                supp_plus_one = [ tuple(sorted(supp+(i,))) for i in (I-set(supp)) ]
                possible_dependency.difference_update(supp_plus_one)
                supports_knext.update(supp_plus_one)

            # remember supports and independents for the next k-iteration
            supports_k = list(supports_knext)
            independent_k = []
            for idx in possible_dependency:
                rk = matrix([ U[i] for i in idx ]).rank()
                if rk==k:
                    independent_k.append(idx)
                else:
                    supports_k.append(idx)
                    yield idx
        assert independent_k==[]  # there are no independent (self.dim()+3)-tuples


    def circuits(self):
        r"""
        Return the circuits of the point configuration.

        Roughly, a circuit is a minimal linearly dependent subset of
        the points. That is, a circuit is a partition

        .. MATH::

            \{ 0, 1, \dots, n-1 \} = C_+ \cup C_0 \cup C_-

        such that there is an (unique up to an overall normalization) affine
        relation

        .. MATH::

            \sum_{i\in C_+}  \alpha_i \vec{p}_i =
            \sum_{j\in C_-}  \alpha_j \vec{p}_j

        with all positive (or all negative) coefficients, where
        `\vec{p}_i=(p_1,\dots,p_k,1)` are the projective coordinates
        of the `i`-th point.

        OUTPUT:

        The list of (unsigned) circuits as triples `(C_+, C_0,
        C_-)`. The swapped circuit `(C_-, C_0, C_+)` is not returned
        separately.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([(0,0),(+1,0),(-1,0),(0,+1),(0,-1)])
            sage: p.circuits()
            (((0,), (1, 2), (3, 4)), ((0,), (3, 4), (1, 2)), ((1, 2), (0,), (3, 4)))


        TESTS::

            sage: U=matrix([
            ...      [ 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 4,-1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0],
            ...      [ 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0,-1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0],
            ...      [ 0, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0,-1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1],
            ...      [ 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0,-2, 1, 0, 0,-1, 1, 1],
            ...      [ 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0,-1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0]
            ...   ])
            sage: p = PointConfiguration(U.columns())
            sage: len( p.circuits() )    # long time
            218
        """
        try:
            return self._circuits
        except AttributeError:
            pass

        n = len(self)
        U = [ self[i].reduced_projective() for i in range(0,n) ]

        Circuits = ()
        for support in self.circuits_support():
            m = matrix([ U[i] for i in support ]).transpose()
            ker = m.right_kernel().basis()[0]
            assert len(ker)==len(support)
            Cplus  = [ support[i] for i in range(0,len(support)) if ker[i]>0 ]
            Cminus = [ support[i] for i in range(0,len(support)) if ker[i]<0 ]
            Czero  = set( range(0,n) ).difference(support)
            Circuits += ( (tuple(Cplus), tuple(Czero), tuple(Cminus)), )
        self._circuits = Circuits
        return Circuits


    def positive_circuits(self, *negative):
        r"""
        Returns the positive part of circuits with fixed negative part.

        A circuit is a pair `(C_+, C_-)`, each consisting of a subset
        (actually, an ordered tuple) of point indices.

        INPUT:

        - ``*negative`` -- integer. The indices of points.

        OUTPUT:

        A tuple of all circuits with `C_-` = ``negative``.

        EXAMPLE::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([(1,0,0),(0,1,0),(0,0,1),(-2,0,-1),(-2,-1,0),(-3,-1,-1),(1,1,1),(-1,0,0),(0,0,0)])
            sage: p.positive_circuits(8)
            ((0, 7), (0, 1, 4), (0, 2, 3), (0, 5, 6), (0, 1, 2, 5), (0, 3, 4, 6))
            sage: p.positive_circuits(0,5,6)
            ((8,),)
        """
        pos = ()
        negative = tuple(sorted(negative))
        for circuit in self.circuits():
            Cpos = circuit[0]
            Cneg = circuit[2]
            if Cpos == negative:
                pos += ( Cneg, )
            elif Cneg == negative:
                pos += ( Cpos, )
        return pos


    def bistellar_flips(self):
        r"""
        Return the bistellar flips.

        OUTPUT:

        The bistellar flips as a tuple. Each flip is a pair
        `(T_+,T_-)` where `T_+` and `T_-` are partial triangulations
        of the point configuration.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: pc = PointConfiguration([(0,0),(1,0),(0,1),(1,1)])
            sage: pc.bistellar_flips()
            (((<0,1,3>, <0,2,3>), (<0,1,2>, <1,2,3>)),)
            sage: Tpos, Tneg = pc.bistellar_flips()[0]
            sage: Tpos.plot(axes=False)
            sage: Tneg.plot(axes=False)

        The 3d analog::

            sage: pc = PointConfiguration([(0,0,0),(0,2,0),(0,0,2),(-1,0,0),(1,1,1)])
            sage: pc.bistellar_flips()
            (((<0,1,2,3>, <0,1,2,4>), (<0,1,3,4>, <0,2,3,4>, <1,2,3,4>)),)

        A 2d flip on the base of the pyramid over a square::

            sage: pc = PointConfiguration([(0,0,0),(0,2,0),(0,0,2),(0,2,2),(1,1,1)])
            sage: pc.bistellar_flips()
            (((<0,1,3>, <0,2,3>), (<0,1,2>, <1,2,3>)),)
            sage: Tpos, Tneg = pc.bistellar_flips()[0]
            sage: Tpos.plot(axes=False)
        """
        flips = []
        for C in self.circuits():
            Cpos = list(C[0])
            Cneg = list(C[2])
            support = sorted(Cpos+Cneg)
            Tpos = [ Cpos+Cneg[0:i]+Cneg[i+1:len(Cneg)] for i in range(0,len(Cneg)) ]
            Tneg = [ Cneg+Cpos[0:i]+Cpos[i+1:len(Cpos)] for i in range(0,len(Cpos)) ]
            flips.append( (self.element_class(Tpos, parent=self, check=False),
                           self.element_class(Tneg, parent=self, check=False)) )
        return tuple(flips)


    def lexicographic_triangulation(self):
        r"""
        Return the lexicographic triangulation.

        The algorithm was taken from [PUNTOS]_.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: p = PointConfiguration([(0,0),(+1,0),(-1,0),(0,+1),(0,-1)])
            sage: p.lexicographic_triangulation()
            (<1,3,4>, <2,3,4>)

        TESTS::

            sage: U=matrix([
            ...      [ 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 4,-1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0],
            ...      [ 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0,-1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0],
            ...      [ 0, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0,-1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1],
            ...      [ 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0,-2, 1, 0, 0,-1, 1, 1],
            ...      [ 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0,-1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0]
            ...   ])
            sage: pc = PointConfiguration(U.columns())
            sage: pc.lexicographic_triangulation()
            (<1,3,4,7,10,13>, <1,3,4,8,10,13>, <1,3,6,7,10,13>, <1,3,6,8,10,13>,
             <1,4,6,7,10,13>, <1,4,6,8,10,13>, <2,3,4,6,7,12>, <2,3,4,7,12,13>,
             <2,3,6,7,12,13>, <2,4,6,7,12,13>, <3,4,5,6,9,12>, <3,4,5,8,9,12>,
             <3,4,6,7,11,12>, <3,4,6,9,11,12>, <3,4,7,10,11,13>, <3,4,7,11,12,13>,
             <3,4,8,9,10,12>, <3,4,8,10,12,13>, <3,4,9,10,11,12>, <3,4,10,11,12,13>,
             <3,5,6,8,9,12>, <3,6,7,10,11,13>, <3,6,7,11,12,13>, <3,6,8,9,10,12>,
             <3,6,8,10,12,13>, <3,6,9,10,11,12>, <3,6,10,11,12,13>, <4,5,6,8,9,12>,
             <4,6,7,10,11,13>, <4,6,7,11,12,13>, <4,6,8,9,10,12>, <4,6,8,10,12,13>,
             <4,6,9,10,11,12>, <4,6,10,11,12,13>)
            sage: len(_)
            34
        """
        lex_supp = set()
        for circuit in self.circuits():
            Cplus = circuit[0]
            Cminus = circuit[2]
            s0 = min(Cplus + Cminus)
            if s0 in Cplus:
                lex_supp.add(Cplus)
            else:
                lex_supp.add(Cminus)

        lex_supp = sorted(lex_supp, key=lambda x:-len(x))
        basepts = copy(lex_supp)
        for i in range(0,len(lex_supp)-1):
            for j in range(i+1,len(lex_supp)):
                if set(lex_supp[j]).issubset(set(lex_supp[i])):
                    try:
                        basepts.remove(lex_supp[i])
                    except ValueError:
                        pass

        basepts = [ (len(b),)+b for b in basepts ]     # decorate
        basepts = sorted(basepts)                      # sort
        basepts = [ b[1:] for b in basepts ]           # undecorate

        def make_cotriang(basepts):
            if len(basepts)==0:
                return [frozenset()]
            triangulation = set()
            for tail in make_cotriang(basepts[1:]):
                for head in basepts[0]:
                    triangulation.update([ frozenset([head]).union(tail) ])

            nonminimal = set()
            for rel in Combinations(triangulation,2):
                if rel[0].issubset(rel[1]): nonminimal.update([rel[1]])
                if rel[1].issubset(rel[0]): nonminimal.update([rel[0]])
            triangulation.difference_update(nonminimal)

            triangulation = [ [len(t)]+sorted(t) for t in triangulation ] # decorate
            triangulation = sorted(triangulation)                         # sort
            triangulation = [ frozenset(t[1:]) for t in triangulation ]   # undecorate

            return triangulation

        triangulation = make_cotriang(basepts)
        I = frozenset(range(0,self.n_points()))
        triangulation = [ tuple(I.difference(t)) for t in triangulation ]

        return self(triangulation)


    @cached_method
    def distance_affine(self, x, y):
        r"""
        Returns the distance between two points.

        The distance function used in this method is `d_{aff}(x,y)^2`,
        the square of the usual affine distance function

        .. math::

            d_{aff}(x,y) = |x-y|

        INPUT:

        - ``x``, ``y`` -- two points of the point configuration.

        OUTPUT:

        The metric distance-square `d_{aff}(x,y)^2`. Note that this
        distance lies in the same field as the entries of ``x``,
        ``y``. That is, the distance of rational points will be
        rational and so on.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: pc = PointConfiguration([(0,0),(1,0),(2,1),(1,2),(0,1)])
            sage: [ pc.distance_affine(pc.point(0), p) for p in pc.points() ]
            [0, 1, 5, 5, 1]
        """
        self._assert_is_affine()
        d = 0
        for xi, yi in zip(x.projective(), y.projective()):
            d += (xi-yi)**2
        return d


    @cached_method
    def distance_FS(self, x, y):
        r"""
        Returns the distance between two points.

        The distance function used in this method is `1-\cos
        d_{FS}(x,y)^2`, where `d_{FS}` is the Fubini-Study distance of
        projective points. Recall the Fubini-Studi distance function

        .. math::

            d_{FS}(x,y) = \arccos \sqrt{ \frac{(x\cdot y)^2}{|x|^2 |y|^2} }

        INPUT:

        - ``x``, ``y`` -- two points of the point configuration.

        OUTPUT:

        The distance `1-\cos d_{FS}(x,y)^2`. Note that this distance
        lies in the same field as the entries of ``x``, ``y``. That
        is, the distance of rational points will be rational and so
        on.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: pc = PointConfiguration([(0,0),(1,0),(2,1),(1,2),(0,1)])
            sage: [ pc.distance_FS(pc.point(0), p) for p in pc.points() ]
            [0, 1/2, 5/6, 5/6, 1/2]
        """
        x2 = y2 = xy = 0
        for xi, yi in zip(x.projective(), y.projective()):
            x2 += xi*xi
            y2 += yi*yi
            xy += xi*yi
        return 1-xy*xy/(x2*y2)


    @cached_method
    def distance(self, x, y):
        """
        Returns the distance between two points.

        INPUT:

        - ``x``, ``y`` -- two points of the point configuration.

        OUTPUT:

        The distance between ``x`` and ``y``, measured either with
        :meth:`distance_affine` or :meth:`distance_FS` depending on
        whether the point configuration is defined by affine or
        projective points. These are related, but not equal to the
        usual flat and Fubini-Study distance.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: pc = PointConfiguration([(0,0),(1,0),(2,1),(1,2),(0,1)])
            sage: [ pc.distance(pc.point(0), p) for p in pc.points() ]
            [0, 1, 5, 5, 1]

            sage: pc = PointConfiguration([(0,0,1),(1,0,1),(2,1,1),(1,2,1),(0,1,1)], projective=True)
            sage: [ pc.distance(pc.point(0), p) for p in pc.points() ]
            [0, 1/2, 5/6, 5/6, 1/2]
        """
        if self.is_affine():
            return self.distance_affine(x,y)
        else:
            return self.distance_FS(x,y)


    def farthest_point(self, points, among=None):
        """
        Return the point with the most distance from ``points``.

        INPUT:

        - ``points`` -- a list of points.

        - ``among`` -- a list of points or ``None`` (default). The set
          of points from which to pick the farthest one. By default,
          all points of the configuration are considered.

        OUTPUT:

        A :class:`~sage.geometry.triangulation.base.Point` with
        largest minimal distance from all given ``points``.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: pc = PointConfiguration([(0,0),(1,0),(1,1),(0,1)])
            sage: pc.farthest_point([ pc.point(0) ])
            P(1, 1)
        """
        if len(points)==0:
            return self.point(0)
        if among is None:
            among = self.points()
        p_max = None
        for p in among:
            if p in points:
                continue
            if p_max is None:
                p_max = p
                d_max = min(self.distance(p,q) for q in points)
                continue
            d = min(self.distance(p,q) for q in points)
            if d>d_max:
                p_max = p
        return p_max


    def contained_simplex(self, large=True, initial_point=None):
        """
        Return a simplex contained in the point configuration.

        INPUT:

        - ``large`` -- boolean. Whether to attempt to return a large
          simplex.

        - ``initial_point`` -- a
          :class:`~sage.geometry.triangulation.base.Point` or ``None``
          (default). A specific point to start with when picking the
          simplex vertices.

        OUTPUT:

        A tuple of points that span a simplex of dimension
        :meth:`dim`. If ``large==True``, the simplex is constructed by
        sucessively picking the farthest point. This will ensure that
        the simplex is not unneccessarily small, but will in general
        not return a maximal simplex.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: pc = PointConfiguration([(0,0),(1,0),(2,1),(1,1),(0,1)])
            sage: pc.contained_simplex()
            (P(0, 1), P(2, 1), P(1, 0))
            sage: pc.contained_simplex(large=False)
            (P(0, 1), P(1, 1), P(1, 0))
            sage: pc.contained_simplex(initial_point=pc.point(0))
            (P(0, 0), P(1, 1), P(1, 0))

            sage: pc = PointConfiguration([[0,0],[0,1],[1,0],[1,1],[-1,-1]])
            sage: pc.contained_simplex()
            (P(-1, -1), P(1, 1), P(0, 1))

        TESTS::

            sage: pc = PointConfiguration([[0,0],[0,1],[1,0]])
            sage: pc.contained_simplex()
            (P(1, 0), P(0, 1), P(0, 0))
            sage: pc = PointConfiguration([[0,0],[0,1]])
            sage: pc.contained_simplex()
            (P(0, 1), P(0, 0))
            sage: pc = PointConfiguration([[0,0]])
            sage: pc.contained_simplex()
            (P(0, 0),)
            sage: pc = PointConfiguration([])
            sage: pc.contained_simplex()
            ()
        """
        self._assert_is_affine()
        if self.n_points()==0:
            return tuple()
        points = list(self.points())
        if initial_point is None:
            origin = points.pop()
        else:
            origin = initial_point
            points.remove(origin)
        vertices = [origin]
        edges = []
        while len(vertices) <= self.dim():
            if large:
                p = self.farthest_point(vertices, points)
                points.remove(p)
            else:
                p = points.pop()
            edge = p.reduced_affine_vector()-origin.reduced_affine_vector()
            if len(edges)>0 and (ker * edge).is_zero():
                continue
            vertices.append(p)
            edges.append(edge)
            ker = matrix(edges).right_kernel().matrix()
        return tuple(vertices)


    def placing_triangulation(self, point_order=None):
        r"""
        Construct the placing (pushing) triangulation.

        INPUT:

        - ``point_order`` -- list of points or integers. The order in
          which the points are to be placed.

        OUTPUT:

        A :class:`~sage.geometry.triangulation.triangulation.Triangulation`.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: pc = PointConfiguration([(0,0),(1,0),(2,1),(1,2),(0,1)])
            sage: pc.placing_triangulation()
            (<0,1,2>, <0,2,4>, <2,3,4>)

            sage: U=matrix([
            ...      [ 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 4,-1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0],
            ...      [ 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0,-1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0],
            ...      [ 0, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0,-1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1],
            ...      [ 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0,-2, 1, 0, 0,-1, 1, 1],
            ...      [ 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0,-1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0]
            ...   ])
            sage: p = PointConfiguration(U.columns())
            sage: triangulation = p.placing_triangulation();  triangulation
            (<0,2,3,4,6,7>, <0,2,3,4,6,12>, <0,2,3,4,7,13>, <0,2,3,4,12,13>,
             <0,2,3,6,7,13>, <0,2,3,6,12,13>, <0,2,4,6,7,13>, <0,2,4,6,12,13>,
             <0,3,4,6,7,12>, <0,3,4,7,12,13>, <0,3,6,7,12,13>, <0,4,6,7,12,13>,
             <1,3,4,5,6,12>, <1,3,4,6,11,12>, <1,3,4,7,11,13>, <1,3,4,11,12,13>,
             <1,3,6,7,11,13>, <1,3,6,11,12,13>, <1,4,6,7,11,13>, <1,4,6,11,12,13>,
             <3,4,6,7,11,12>, <3,4,7,11,12,13>, <3,6,7,11,12,13>, <4,6,7,11,12,13>)
            sage: sum(p.volume(t) for t in triangulation)
            42
        """
        facet_normals = dict()
        def facets_of_simplex(simplex):
            """
            Return the facets of the simplex and store the normals in facet_normals
            """
            simplex = list(simplex)
            origin = simplex[0]
            rest = simplex[1:]
            span = matrix([ origin.reduced_affine_vector()-p.reduced_affine_vector()
                            for p in rest ])
            # span.inverse() linearly transforms the simplex into the unit simplex
            normals = span.inverse().columns()
            facets = []
            # The facets incident to the chosen vertex "origin"
            for opposing_vertex, normal in zip(rest, normals):
                facet = frozenset([origin] + [ p for p in rest if p is not opposing_vertex ])
                facets.append(facet)
                normal.set_immutable()
                facet_normals[facet] = normal
            # The remaining facet that is not incident to "origin"
            facet = frozenset(rest)
            normal = -sum(normals)
            normal.set_immutable()
            facet_normals[facet] = normal
            facets.append(facet)
            return set(facets)

        # input verification
        self._assert_is_affine()
        if point_order is None:
            point_order = list(self.points())
        elif isinstance(point_order[0], Point):
            point_order = list(point_order)
            assert all(p.point_configuration()==self for p in point_order)
        else:
            point_order = [ self.point(i) for i in point_order ]
        assert all(p in self.points() for p in point_order)

        # construct the initial simplex
        simplices = [ frozenset(self.contained_simplex()) ]
        for s in simplices[0]:
            try:
                point_order.remove(s)
            except ValueError:
                pass
        facets = facets_of_simplex(simplices[0])

        # successively place the remaining points
        for point in point_order:
            # identify visible facets
            visible_facets = []
            for facet in facets:
                origin = iter(facet).next()
                normal = facet_normals[facet]
                v = point.reduced_affine_vector() - origin.reduced_affine_vector()
                if v*normal>0:
                    visible_facets.append(facet)

            # construct simplices over each visible facet
            new_facets = set()
            for facet in visible_facets:
                simplex = frozenset(list(facet) + [point])
                # print 'simplex', simplex
                simplices.append(simplex)
                for facet in facets_of_simplex(simplex):
                    if facet in visible_facets: continue
                    if facet in new_facets:
                        new_facets.remove(facet)
                        continue
                    new_facets.add(facet)
            facets.difference_update(visible_facets)
            facets.update(new_facets)

        # construct the triangulation
        triangulation = [ [p.index() for p in simplex] for simplex in simplices ]
        return self(triangulation)

    pushing_triangulation = placing_triangulation

    @cached_method
    def Gale_transform(self, points=None):
        r"""
        Return the Gale transform of ``self``.

        INPUT:

        - ``points`` -- a tuple of points or point indices or ``None``
          (default). A subset of points for which to compute the Gale
          transform. By default, all points are used.

        OUTPUT:

        A matrix over :meth:`base_ring`.

        EXAMPLES::

            sage: pc = PointConfiguration([(0,0),(1,0),(2,1),(1,1),(0,1)])
            sage: pc.Gale_transform()
            [ 1 -1  0  1 -1]
            [ 0  0  1 -2  1]

            sage: pc.Gale_transform((0,1,3,4))
            [ 1 -1  1 -1]

            sage: points = (pc.point(0), pc.point(1), pc.point(3), pc.point(4))
            sage: pc.Gale_transform(points)
            [ 1 -1  1 -1]
        """
        self._assert_is_affine()
        if points is None:
            points = self.points()
        else:
            try:
                points = [ self.point(ZZ(i)) for i in points ]
            except TypeError:
                pass
        m = matrix([ (1,) + p.affine() for p in points])
        return m.left_kernel().matrix()