VANDERMONDE_APPROX_1D
Data Approximation with Polynomials using the Vandermonde Matrix


VANDERMONDE_APPROX_1D, a MATLAB library which finds a polynomial approximant to 1D data by setting up and solving an overdetermined linear system involving the Vandermonde matrix.

This software is primarily intended as an illustration of the problems that can occur when the approximation problem is naively formulated using the Vandermonde matrix. Unless the data points are well separated, and the degree of the polynomial is low, the linear system will become very difficult to store and solve accurately, because the monomials used as basis vectors by the Vandermonde approach become indistinguishable.

VANDERMONDE_APPROX_1D needs access to the R8LIB library. The test code also needs access to the TEST_INTERP library.

Licensing:

The computer code and data files described and made available on this web page are distributed under the GNU LGPL license.

Languages:

VANDERMONDE_APPROX_1D is available in a C version and a C++ version and a FORTRAN90 version and a MATLAB version.

Related Data and Programs:

BERNSTEIN_POLYNOMIAL, a MATLAB library which evaluates the Bernstein polynomials, useful for uniform approximation of functions;

CHEBYSHEV, a MATLAB library which computes the Chebyshev interpolant/approximant to a given function over an interval.

LAGRANGE_APPROX_1D, a MATLAB library which defines and evaluates the Lagrange polynomial p(x) of degree m which approximates a set of nd data points (x(i),y(i)).

PWL_APPROX_1D, a MATLAB library which approximates a set of data using a piecewise linear function.

R8LIB, a MATLAB library which contains many utility routines using double precision real (R8) arithmetic.

SPLINE, a MATLAB library which constructs and evaluates spline interpolants and approximants.

TEST_APPROX, a MATLAB library which defines test problems for approximation, provided as a set of (x,y) data.

vandermonde_approx_1d_test

VANDERMONDE_APPROX_2D, a MATLAB library which finds a polynomial approximant p(x,y) to a function of 2D data by setting up and solving an overdetermined linear system for the polynomial coefficients involving the Vandermonde matrix.

VANDERMONDE_INTERP_1D, a MATLAB library which finds a polynomial interpolant to a function of 1D data by setting up and solving a linear system for the polynomial coefficients, involving the Vandermonde matrix.

Reference:

  1. Kendall Atkinson,
    An Introduction to Numerical Analysis,
    Prentice Hall, 1989,
    ISBN: 0471624896,
    LC: QA297.A94.1989.
  2. Philip Davis,
    Interpolation and Approximation,
    Dover, 1975,
    ISBN: 0-486-62495-1,
    LC: QA221.D33
  3. David Kahaner, Cleve Moler, Steven Nash,
    Numerical Methods and Software,
    Prentice Hall, 1989,
    ISBN: 0-13-627258-4,
    LC: TA345.K34.

Source Code:


Last modified on 18 February 2019.