Talk:Function specification (mathematics)

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Actually I am not sure what do you mean by specify? You mean the definition of a function, for example? Because I am not sure about the intent of the article yet, please add more contexts information. Put for example, why do we want to specify a function and if we need, when? -- Taku 03:49 11 Jun 2003 (UTC)

Good point! It seems "how to define a function" is a better title. I don't know who its origin writer is -- it was the section specifying functions in the article function which is growing too long. Let's wait for a while and see if the origin writer will provide a better answer. -- Wshun

To "specify" means here, I suspect, to uniquely determine, to provide enough information to pick out a particular function -- in the same sense that three points specify a plane in geometry. There may be many descriptions which all uniquely determine an object, though, with none more basic than another: one reason to avoid the term "define" is that it implies that the definition is unique or uniquely basic.

As an example, these specify the same function:

• f(x) = x+1
• f = λx. x+1
• f(0) = 1; f(1) = 2; degree(f) = 1

--FOo