Class PolynomialSplineFunction

  • All Implemented Interfaces:
    DoubleUnaryOperator, UnivariateDifferentiableFunction, UnivariateFunction

    public class PolynomialSplineFunction
    extends Object
    implements UnivariateDifferentiableFunction
    Represents a polynomial spline function.

    A polynomial spline function consists of a set of interpolating polynomials and an ascending array of domain knot points, determining the intervals over which the spline function is defined by the constituent polynomials. The polynomials are assumed to have been computed to match the values of another function at the knot points. The value consistency constraints are not currently enforced by PolynomialSplineFunction itself, but are assumed to hold among the polynomials and knot points passed to the constructor.

    N.B.: The polynomials in the polynomials property must be centered on the knot points to compute the spline function values. See below.

    The domain of the polynomial spline function is [smallest knot, largest knot]. Attempts to evaluate the function at values outside of this range generate IllegalArgumentExceptions.

    The value of the polynomial spline function for an argument x is computed as follows:

    1. The knot array is searched to find the segment to which x belongs. If x is less than the smallest knot point or greater than the largest one, an IllegalArgumentException is thrown.
    2. Let j be the index of the largest knot point that is less than or equal to x. The value returned is polynomials[j](x - knot[j])