D. C. Handscomb (EDT) Methods of Numerical Approximation

Annotation

Methods of Numerical Approximation is based on lectures delivered at the Summer School held in September 1965, at Oxford University. The book deals with the approximation of functions with one or more variables, through means of more elementary functions. It explains systems to approximate functions, such as trigonometric sums, rational functions, continued fractions, and spline functions. The book also discusses linear approximation including topics such as convergence of polynomial interpolation and the least-squares approximation. The text analyzes Bernstein polynomials, Weierstrass' theorem, and Lagrangian interpolation. The book also gives attention to the Chebyshev least-squares approximation, the Chebyshev series, and the determination of Chebyshev series, under general methods. These general methods are useful when the student wants to investigate practical methods for finding forms of approximations under various situations. One of the lectures concerns the general theory of linear approximation and the existence of a best approximation approach using different theorems. The book also discusses the theory and calculation of the best rational approximations as well as the optimal approximation of linear functionals. The text will prove helpful for students in advanced mathematics and calculus. It can be appreciated by statisticians and those working with numbers theory.