5 Best Ways to Differentiate a Polynomial in Python

💡 Problem Formulation: How do you compute the derivative of a polynomial function in Python? If given an input polynomial such as \(p(x) = 3x^2 + 2x + 1\), we desire a method that outputs its derivative, \(p'(x) = 6x + 2\). This article discusses several methods to calculate that derivative using Python.

Method 1: Using SymPy

SymPy is a Python library for symbolic mathematics, which can be used to perform differentiation on algebraic expressions. The differentiation function diff() included in SymPy is versatile and can handle both simple and complex differentiations.

Here’s an example:

from sympy import Symbol, diff

x = Symbol('x')
polynomial = 3*x**2 + 2*x + 1
derivative = diff(polynomial, x)
print(derivative)

Output: 6*x + 2

In this snippet, we first import the necessary components of SymPy. We declare a symbol ‘x’ to represent our variable. Our polynomial is then defined symbolically, and we use the diff() method to differentiate it with respect to ‘x’. The result is printed to the console.

Method 2: NumPy’s polyder Function

NumPy, a fundamental package for scientific computing with Python, provides the polyder function, which can be used to differentiate polynomials represented as arrays of coefficients.

Here’s an example:

import numpy as np

coefficients = [3, 2, 1]  # Corresponds to 3x^2 + 2x + 1
derivative_coefficients = np.polyder(coefficients)
print(derivative_coefficients)

Output: [6 2]

The code block uses NumPy’s polyder() to compute the derivative of a polynomial. It takes a list of coefficients (highest degree first) and returns the coefficients of its derivative. The resulting coefficients [6, 2] represent the derivative polynomial \(6x + 2\).

Method 3: Hard-coding the Derivative

For simple polynomials, one can manually compute the coefficients of the derivative and implement the derivative function.

Here’s an example:

def derivative_of_polynomial(x):
    return 6*x + 2  # Derivative of 3x^2 + 2x + 1

print(derivative_of_polynomial(5))  # Example input x=5

Output: 32

This code snippet directly implements the derivative function. We define a function derivative_of_polynomial() that returns the result of the hardcoded derivative expression for a given input. This method is not generalizable but can be efficient for fixed polynomials with known derivatives.

Method 4: Derivative Approximation with Finite Differences

When an analytical derivative is troublesome to compute, approximation methods like finite differences can be employed. This involves evaluating the polynomial at points near the point of interest to approximate the derivative.

Here’s an example:

def polynomial(x):
    return 3*x**2 + 2*x + 1

def approximate_derivative(f, x, h=1e-5):
    return (f(x + h) - f(x)) / h

print(approximate_derivative(polynomial, 5))

Output: 32.00003051804375

The finite difference method is depicted with a function polynomial() defined for our specific polynomial and an approximate_derivative() function to compute its derivative. The approximation utilizes a small \(h\) to estimate the slope at the point \(x\). The result is a close approximation to the actual derivative at that point.

Bonus One-Liner Method 5: Lambda Function with Hardcoded Coefficients

A one-liner Lambda function can be used to directly encode the derivative of a polynomial, making it concise but less flexible.

Here’s an example:

derivative = lambda x: 6*x + 2
print(derivative(5))

Output: 32

The one-liner employs a lambda function to encapsulate the hardcoded derivative. The function is then immediately used to calculate the derivative for a specific value of ‘x’. This approach is highly succinct but, like method 3, lacks generalizability.

Summary/Discussion

Method 1: SymPy.

Method 2: NumPy’s polyder.

Method 3: Hard-coding the Derivative.

Method 4: Derivative Approximation with Finite Differences.

Bonus Method 5: Lambda Function with Hardcoded Coefficients.