what is the name of snake-like image traversing algorithm?

Question

The algorithm name is after some mathematician.

You can traverse image line by line of course, but you can traverse image using recursive generated path, which the basic blocks looks like:

U

This one is for traversal 2x2 pixels image. If you have bigger image, you "multiply" this block (rotated or not) for each segment. The result is snake-like path.

So, maybe you remember the name of this algorithm :-) Thank you in advance.

Answer 1

In general, this is a space-filling curve, common examples include the (Giuseppe) Peano curve, (David) Hilbert curve, (Eliakim Hastings) Moore curve, and (Wacław Franciszek) Sierpiński curve.

You appear to be specifically referring to the Hilbert curve described by David Hilbert or its variant, the Moore curve described by Eliakim Hastings Moore.

Answer 2

Another one is Z-order a.k.a. Morton order.

Answer 3

I believe it may be Hilbert Traversal or the Hilbert Curve.

See, e.g. http://corte.si/posts/code/hilbert/portrait/index.html