From: luecking AT uark DOT edu (Dan Luecking)
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.djgpp
Subject: Re: ANNOUNCE: DJGPP packages of GNU units 1.80
Date: Sat, 13 Jul 2002 18:26:29 GMT
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On Sat, 13 Jul 2002 15:42:58 +0200, "deckerben" <deckerben AT freenet DOT de>
wrote:

>
>"Martin Str|mberg" <ams AT speedy DOT ludd DOT luth DOT se> wrote in message
>news:1026566850 DOT 605764 AT queeg DOT ludd DOT luth DOT se...
>> Richard Dawe <rich AT phekda DOT freeserve DOT co DOT uk> wrote:
>
>> y = 9/5*x + 32 (or some variation thereof) surely looks extremely
>> linear to me.
>
>Could it be that the term 'nonlinear' is being loosely applied here to
>conversions requiring monomial/polynomial funcions as opposed to a simple
>ratio of conversion?

*Informally*, the function 1.8*x + 32 can be called linear because
its graph is a line. *Technically*, it is an _affine_ function. 
Linear functions satisfy f(a*u + b*v) = a*f(u) + b*f(v). Affine
functions are linear functions composed with a shift. A linear 
function might represent conversion of temperature differences, 
while an affine function would represent conversion of absolute 
temperatures.


Dan

-- 
Dan Luecking                     Department of Mathematical Sciences
University of Arkansas           Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701