generating function

Meaning

Noun

• A formal power series with one indeterminate, whose coefficients encode a sequence that can be studied by algebraic manipulation of the series; any one of several generalisations, such as to encode more than one sequence or use more than one indeterminate.

Related

Narrower meaning words

• exponential generating function
• Bell series
• Dirichlet series
• Lambert series
• ordinary generating function

Broader meaning words

• formal power series

Origin

• The concept was introduced by French mathematician Abraham de Moivre in 1730.