Function approximation

In general, a function approximation problem asks us to select a

function among a well-defined class that closely matches
("approximates") a target function in a task-specific way.[1] The
need for function approximations arises in many branches of
applied mathematics, and computer science in particular, such as
predicting the growth of microbes in microbiology.[2] Function
approximations are used where theoretical models are unavailable
or hard to compute.[2]

One can distinguish two major classes of function approximation Several progressively more accurate
problems: approximations of the step function.

First, for known target functions approximation theory is the branch

of numerical analysis that investigates how certain known functions
(for example, special functions) can be approximated by a specific
class of functions (for example, polynomials or rational functions)
that often have desirable properties (inexpensive computation,
continuity, integral and limit values, etc.).[3]

Second, the target function, call it g, may be unknown; instead of

an explicit formula, only a set of points of the form (x, g(x)) is
provided. Depending on the structure of the domain and codomain
of g, several techniques for approximating g may be applicable. For
An asymmetrical Gaussian function
example, if g is an operation on the real numbers, techniques of
fit to a noisy curve using regression.
interpolation, extrapolation, regression analysis, and curve fitting
can be used. If the codomain (range or target set) of g is a finite set,
one is dealing with a classification problem instead.[4]

To some extent, the different problems (regression, classification, fitness approximation) have received a
unified treatment in statistical learning theory, where they are viewed as supervised learning problems.

References
1. Lakemeyer, Gerhard; Sklar, Elizabeth; Sorrenti, Domenico G.; Takahashi, Tomoichi (2007-
09-04). RoboCup 2006: Robot Soccer World Cup X (https://books.google.com/books?id=P
W1qCQAAQBAJ&dq=%22function+approximation+is%22&pg=PA49). Springer. ISBN 978-
3-540-74024-7.
2. Basheer, I.A.; Hajmeer, M. (2000). "Artificial neural networks: fundamentals, computing,
design, and application" (http://ethologie.unige.ch/etho5.10/pdf/basheer.hajmeer.2000.funda
mentals.design.and.application.of.neural.networks.review.pdf) (PDF). Journal of
Microbiological Methods. 43 (1): 3–31. doi:10.1016/S0167-7012(00)00201-3 (https://doi.org/
10.1016%2FS0167-7012%2800%2900201-3). PMID 11084225 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.ni
h.gov/11084225). S2CID 18267806 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:18267806).
3. Mhaskar, Hrushikesh Narhar; Pai, Devidas V. (2000). Fundamentals of Approximation
Theory (https://books.google.com/books?id=643OA9qwXLgC&dq=%22approximation+theor
y%22&pg=PA1). CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-0939-7.
 4. Charte, David; Charte, Francisco; García, Salvador; Herrera, Francisco (2019-04-01). "A
snapshot on nonstandard supervised learning problems: taxonomy, relationships, problem
transformations and algorithm adaptations" (https://doi.org/10.1007/s13748-018-00167-7).
Progress in Artificial Intelligence. 8 (1): 1–14. arXiv:1811.12044 (https://arxiv.org/abs/1811.1
2044). doi:10.1007/s13748-018-00167-7 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs13748-018-00167-7).
ISSN 2192-6360 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/2192-6360). S2CID 53715158 (https://api.se
manticscholar.org/CorpusID:53715158).

See also
Approximation theory
Fitness approximation
Kriging
Least squares (function approximation)
Radial basis function network

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