In calculus, a differentiable function of one real variable is a function whose derivative exists at each point in its domain. As a result, the graph of a differentiable function must have a tangent line at each interior point in its domain, be relatively smooth, and cannot contain any break, angle, or cusp. More generally, if x0 is an interior point in the domain of a functionf, then f is said to be differentiable at x0 if the derivative f ′ exists. This means that the graph of f has a non-vertical tangent line at the point. The function f may also be called locally linear at x0, as it can be well approximated by a linear function near this point.
If is differentiable at a point, then must also be continuous at. In particular, any differentiable function must be continuous at every point in its domain. The converse does not hold: a continuous function need not be differentiable. For example, a function with a bend, cusp, or vertical tangent may be continuous, but fails to be differentiable at the location of the anomaly. Most functions that occur in practice have derivatives at all points or at almost every point. However, a result of Stefan Banach states that the set of functions that have a derivative at some point is a meager set in the space of all continuous functions. Informally, this means that differentiable functions are very atypical among continuous functions. The first known example of a function that is continuous everywhere but differentiable nowhere is the Weierstrass function.
Differentiability classes
A function f is said to be continuously differentiable if the derivative ' exists and is itself a continuous function. Although the derivative of a differentiable function never has a jump discontinuity, it is possible for the derivative to have an essential discontinuity. For example, the function is differentiable at 0, since exists. However, for x ≠ 0, differentiation rules imply which has no limit as x → 0. Nevertheless, Darboux's theorem implies that the derivative of any function satisfies the conclusion of the intermediate value theorem. Continuously differentiable functions are sometimes said to be of class C1. A function is of class C2 if the first and second derivative of the function both exist and are continuous. More generally, a function is said to be of class Ck if the first k derivatives ', ,..., f all exist and are continuous. If derivatives f exist for all positive integersn, the function is smooth or equivalently, of class C∞.
A function of several real variables is said to be differentiable at a point if there exists a linear map such that If a function is differentiable at, then all of the partial derivatives exist at, and the linear map is given by the Jacobian matrix. A similar formulation of the higher-dimensional derivative is provided by the fundamental increment lemma found in single-variable calculus. If all the partial derivatives of a function exist in a neighborhood of a point and are continuous at the point, then the function is differentiable at that point. However, the existence of the partial derivatives does not in general guarantee that a function is differentiable at a point. For example, the function defined by is not differentiable at, but all of the partial derivatives and directional derivatives exist at this point. For a continuous example, the function is not differentiable at, but again all of the partial derivatives and directional derivatives exist.
In complex analysis, complex-differentiability is defined using the same definition as single-variable real functions. This is allowed by the possibility of dividing complex numbers. So, a function is said to be differentiable at when Although this definition looks similar to the differentiability of single-variable real functions, it is however a more restrictive condition. A function, that is complex-differentiable at a point is automatically differentiable at that point, when viewed as a function. This is because the complex-differentiability implies that However, a function can be differentiable as a multi-variable function, while not being complex-differentiable. For example, is differentiable at every point, viewed as the 2-variable real function, but it is not complex-differentiable at any point. Any function that is complex-differentiable in a neighborhood of a point is called holomorphic at that point. Such a function is necessarily infinitely differentiable, and in fact analytic.
