# PointData vs 0D CellData

**URL:** <https://discourse.vtk.org/t/pointdata-vs-0d-celldata/16570>\
**Category:** Support\
**Created:** [October 27, 2026, 10:25am UTC](https://discourse.vtk.org/t/pointdata-vs-0d-celldata/16570 "2026-10-27T10:25:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Bodacious](https://discourse.vtk.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/db5fbb/32.png) [@Bodacious](https://discourse.vtk.org/u/Bodacious)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2026, 10:25am UTC](https://discourse.vtk.org/t/pointdata-vs-0d-celldata/16570/1 "2026-10-27T10:25:20Z")

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Dear all,

I am working on a custom filter that works with PointData only. Hence I am using a CellDataToPointData operation if the input is CellData.  
If I were to keep CellData across the entire custom fitler, I would have to double the amount of code to account for CellData operations through the entire custom filter.

However, I have discovered [the existence of 0D Cell Data vertices thanks to the VTK\_VERTEX and VTK\_POLY\_VERTEX VTKCell types](https://examples.vtk.org/site/Cxx/GeometricObjects/LinearCellsDemo/) (1 and 2 respectively)

 ![TestLinearCellsDemo](https://discourse.vtk.org/uploads/default/original/2X/b/bfb0bfa679d56501f70ccd25bdfe27589801dd43.png)

What is the philosophical difference between 0D CellData and PointData ?  
For example, does the choice between the two affects the way gradients are computed (via a gradient filter) or the way data are integrated (via vtkIntegrateAttributes) ?

Would it be wiser to write a custom filter only with CellData functions and perform a PointData to 0D CellData VTK\_POLY\_VERTEX operation if the input is PointData, rather than a PointData custom filter ?

Thanks a lot,  
Sincerely yours