Some sources say that a NURBS patch is a specific type of NURBS surface, while other sources say that patches and surfaces are the same thing. Is there a distinction between the two? If so, what is it?
Thanks.
A NURBS surface is in general piecewise continuous as it is formed by pieceing multiple (rational) Bezier surfaces togather. Each (rational) Bezier surface within a NURBS surface is often referred as a "patch". So, while a "patch" is also a surface, it would not be right to say "NURBS patch" from a strict technical point of view but I think we all understand what it means when such a term is used.