Re: [Inkscape-user] a question about path

yes, you are correct, the conversion from elliptical arc to cubic Bézier curves is not lossless. There have been some bug reports concerning this: - https://bugs.launchpad.net/inkscape/+bug/168218 - https://bugs.launchpad.net/inkscape/+bug/332735

The behaviour in Inkscape is, typically, to try to make sure that the angle of the arc over which the Bezier curve is fit is never more than 90 degrees. If it is, then multiple Beziers will be used. The Bezier curve is applied so that it touches the elliptical arc tangentially at both endpoints of the arc and also at the midpoint as well. The resulting error will be so small that it should not be noticeable on a normal display.

hth, Alvin Penner