Vector graphics

Vector graphics was the technology used in the first generation of video displays (which all used CRT's for their displays).

At that time, memory was still quite expensive per bit, so the bit-mapped display approach was economically infeasible. Instead, the video display used a display program, which was a list of commands to the hardware of the display (often stored in memory).

The commands were to do things like display lines, points, etc, at locations specified by the command; the command might also include attributes, thinge like dashed lines, bold, etc. The display processor converted these to voltages sent to the beam controls of the CRT, to draw the needed strokes.

Some graphics units included a character generator, so the commands might include text displays. (Although characters could be drawn using display commands, using a character generator saved commands, which might be limited in total number.)