Any continuous elementary function can be approximated by a polynomial of
degree
L, PL(x),
or by a rational function
PM(X)
RM,N(X)
= 10.20
ON(X)
As mentioned before, in many instances rational approximations are more accu-
rate than the polynomial approximations using the same number of coefficients.
Moreover, rational functions have a higher degree of parallelism in execution. A
disadvantage is the need for a divider.
The coefficients of a rational approximation
RM,N(X)
for a function
f(x)
are determined so as to minimize the maximum relative error
[RM, N(X) -- f(x) ]
10.21 ...
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