An Atlas Of Functions [Hardcover]

Jerome Spanier (Author), Keith B. Oldham (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0891165738 | ISBN-13: 978-0891165736 | Publication Date: January 1, 1987 | Edition: First Edition

This second edition of An Atlas of Functions, with Equator, the Atlas Function Calculator, provides comprehensive information on several hundred functions or function families, of interest to all those scientists, engineers and mathematicians who are concerned with the quantitative aspects of their field. Beginning with simple integer-valued functions, the book progresses to polynomials, exponential, trigonometric, Bessel, and hypergeometric functions, as well as many more. The 65 chapters are arranged roughly in order of increasing complexity, mathematical sophistication being kept to a minimum while utility is stressed throughout. In addition to providing definitions and simple properties for every function, each chapter catalogs more complex interrelationships as well as the derivatives, integrals, Laplace transforms and other characteristics of the function. Numerous color figures in 2 or 3 dimensions depict their shape and qualitative features and flesh out the reader’s familiarity with the functions. In many instances, the chapter concludes with a concise exposition on a topic in applied mathematics associated with the particular function or function family. Features that make the Atlas an invaluable reference tool, yet simple to use, include: full coverage of those functions—elementary and “special”—that meet everyday needsa standardized chapter format, making it easy to locate needed information on such aspects as: nomenclature, general behavior, definitions, intrarelationships, expansions, approximations, limits, and response to operations of the calculusextensive cross-referencing and comprehensive indexing, with useful appendicesthe inclusion of innovative software--Equator, the Atlas Function Calculatorthe inclusion of new material dealing with interesting applications of many of the function families, building upon the favorable responses to similar material in the first edition.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews of the second edition: "The book is devoted to functions such as quadratic and cubic polynomials, absolute value, square roots, etc. … the Atlas comes with software for computing the functions described in the book. … the Atlas is valuable as a reference, it also contains a large amount of expository text. … The Atlas seems to have been written for the reader who is not in such a hurry and who might enjoy looking around a bit." (John Cook, The Mathematical Association of America, March, 2009) "This is a compilation of several hundred functions that are frequently used by engineers, scientists, and mathematicians to obtain a quantitative result. … Each chapter in this handbook discusses a function or a family of related functions for a total of 65 chapters. … Each chapter contains definitions and properties for each function along with color graphs … . Engineers, scientists, and mathematicians will find this reference book to be a handy resource for many years." (Electrical Insulation Magazine, 2009) "This book provides elementary and basic information on several hundred functions … . a combination of a book and software is useful for scientists concerned with the quantitative aspects of their field. … layout of the book is modern with very nice colorful graphs or surfaces of functions. Each chapter contains a lot of information about the functions studied in that chapter. … This book defends well its place in the mathematical literature." (Matti Vuorinen, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1167, 2009) “This is the second edition of a handbook with same title … . There are numerous other improvements throughout this new edition but the objective remains the same to provide the reader regardless of his or her discipline with a succinct compendium of information about all the common mathematical functions in use today. … The layout of the book is excellent and it is a pleasure to see the glossy paper and the very high quality graphs. The inclusion of Equator is a useful contribution.” (Mourad E. H. Ismail, Mathematical Reviews, Issue 2010 f) --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From the Back Cover

This second edition of An Atlas of Functions, with Equator, the Atlas Function Calculator, provides comprehensive information on several hundred functions or function families of interest to scientists, engineers and mathematicians who are concerned with the quantitative aspects of their field. Beginning with simple integer-valued functions, the book progresses to polynomials, exponential, trigonometric, Bessel, and hypergeometric functions, and many more. The 65 chapters are arranged roughly in order of increasing complexity, mathematical sophistication being kept to a minimum while stressing utility throughout. In addition to providing definitions and simple properties for every function, each chapter catalogs more complex interrelationships as well as the derivatives, integrals, Laplace transforms and other characteristics of the function. Numerous color figures in two- or three- dimensions depict their shape and qualitative features and flesh out the reader’s familiarity with the functions. In many instances, the chapter concludes with a concise exposition on a topic in applied mathematics associated with the particular function or function family. Features that make the Atlas an invaluable reference tool, yet simple to use, include: full coverage of those functions—elementary and "special”—that meet everyday needs a standardized chapter format, making it easy to locate needed information on such aspects as: nomenclature, general behavior, definitions, intrarelationships, expansions, approximations, limits, and response to operations of the calculus extensive cross-referencing and comprehensive indexing, with useful appendices the inclusion of innovative software--Equator, the Atlas Function Calculator--on a CD with the print book obviating the need for tables or programming to find numerical values (once installed onto your Windows-based PC, this unique function calculator generates precise function values on demand) the inclusion of new material dealing with interesting applications of many of the function families, building upon the favorable responses to similar material in the first edition. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 700 pages
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis; First Edition edition (January 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0891165738
• ISBN-13: 978-0891165736
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,095,811 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Atlas of Functions - In case of difficulty, start here, February 14, 2002

By 

W. J. Lentz (Monterey, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: An Atlas Of Functions (Hardcover)

The depth of knowledge shown by the authors who emphasize computation of functions is amazing. By presenting their coded functions in concise and easy-to-understand English, as opposed to Pascal, GAT, Basic, Focal, Forth, Fortran, C, Macsyma, or IDL - to name a few I have had to learn - anyone can easily code programs in their favorite language for many decades.

This extensive working reference is as essential as Abramowitz and Stegun and much more illuminating. In case of difficulty, one should find this reference book indispensable.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Graphics and explanations are excellent. Code is weak., June 5, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: An Atlas Of Functions (Hardcover)

For someone interested in functions, this book is a must have. The graphics are excellent. The explanations are excellent. The pseudo-code is clearly the product of persons who are not programmers and should not be used. If you write function libraries or mathematical software of any sort, this book is something you really ought to own. But please, code from the formulae. A & S "Handbook" Cody & Waite "Elementary Functions" Spannier & Oldham "Atlas" Each belongs on the nightstand of a serious Numerical Analysis math freak.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic, April 12, 2006

By 

Steve Durfee "Geek before it was cool." (Sandy, UT) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: An Atlas Of Functions (Hardcover)

This book is astonishing. Since purchasing a copy in 1989 I refer to it very frequently, so that the dustjacket is worn thin from use. I'm not aware of another reference to equal it. I'm in awe of the scope of knowledge of the authors in bringing this amount of information together.