In addition to coverage of univariate interpolation and approximation, the text includes material on multivariate interpolation and multivariate numerical integration, a generalization of the Bernstein polynomials that has not previously appeared in book form, and a greater coverage of Peano kernel theory than is found in most textbooks. There are many worked examples and each section ends with a number of carefully selected problems that extend the student's understanding of the text. The author is well known for his clarity of writing and his many contributions as a researcher in approximation theory.

A spline is a thin flexible strip composed of a material such as bamboo or steel that can be bent to pass through or near given points in the plane, or in 3-space in a smooth manner. Mechanical engineers and drafting specialists find such (physical) splines useful in designing and in drawing plans for a wide variety of objects, such as for hulls of boats or for the bodies of automobiles where smooth curves need to be specified. These days, physi cal splines are largely replaced by computer software that can compute the desired curves (with appropriate encouragment). The same mathematical ideas used for computing "spline" curves can be extended to allow us to compute "spline" surfaces. The application ofthese mathematical ideas is rather widespread. Spline functions are central to computer graphics disciplines. Spline curves and surfaces are used in computer graphics renderings for both real and imagi nary objects. Computer-aided-design (CAD) systems depend on algorithms for computing spline functions, and splines are used in numerical analysis and statistics. Thus the construction of movies and computer games trav els side-by-side with the art of automobile design, sail construction, and architecture; and statisticians and applied mathematicians use splines as everyday computational tools, often divorced from graphic images.

Spline functions entered Approximation Theory as solutions of natural extremal problems. A typical example is the problem of drawing a function curve through given n + k points that has a minimal norm of its k-th derivative. Isolated facts about the functions, now called splines, can be found in the papers of L. Euler, A. Lebesgue, G. Birkhoff, J. Favard, L. Tschakaloff. However, the Theory of Spline Functions has developed in the last 30 years by the effort of dozens of mathematicians. Recent fundamental results on multivariate polynomial interpolation and multivari ate splines have initiated a new wave of theoretical investigations and variety of applications. The purpose of this book is to introduce the reader to the theory of spline functions. The emphasis is given to some new developments, such as the general Birkoff's type interpolation, the extremal properties of the splines and their prominant role in the optimal recovery of functions, multivariate interpolation by polynomials and splines. The material presented is based on the lectures of the authors, given to the students at the University of Sofia and Yerevan University during the last 10 years. Some more elementary results are left as excercises and detailed hints are given.

B-splines are fundamental to approximation and data fitting, geometric modeling, automated manufacturing, computer graphics, and numerical simulation. With an emphasis on key results and methods that are most widely used in practice, this textbook provides a unified introduction to the basic components of B-spline theory: approximation methods (mathematics), modeling techniques (engineering), and geometric algorithms (computer science). A supplemental Web site will provide a collection of problems, some with solutions, slides for use in lectures, and programs with demos.

The Theory of Splines and Their Applications discusses spline theory, the theory of cubic splines, polynomial splines of higher degree, generalized splines, doubly cubic splines, and two-dimensional generalized splines. The book explains the equations of the spline, procedures for applications of the spline, convergence properties, equal-interval splines, and special formulas for numerical differentiation or integration. The text explores the intrinsic properties of cubic splines including the Hilbert space interpretation, transformations defined by a mesh, and some connections with space technology concerning the payload of a rocket. The book also discusses the theory of polynomial splines of odd degree which can be approached through algebraically (which depends primarily on the examination in detail of the linear system of equations defining the spline). The theory can also be approached intrinsically (which exploits the consequences of basic integral relations existing between functions and approximating spline functions). The text also considers the second integral relation, raising the order of convergence, and the limits on the order of convergence. The book will prove useful for mathematicians, physicist, engineers, or academicians in the field of technology and applied mathematics.

Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute, Calgary, Canada, August 26-September 2, 1978

This book highlights new methods, algorithms and software for the digital processing and recovery of signals. In addition, it describes a new method for modeling one dimensional and multidimensional signals as successions of local polynomial splines and their spectral characteristics. It provides examples of how the proposed methods can be applied in specific cases, together with signal processing software examples in the MATLAB environment, and models of special processes in the Simulink environment. The book’s goal is to make it easier for beginners to understand the subject matter; it is intended for engineers, undergraduate and graduate students engaged in research or the evaluation and design of hardware and software for the digital processing and recovery of signals.