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The chain rule for total derivatives implies a chain rule for partial derivatives. Recall that when the total derivative exists, the partial derivative in the i -th coordinate direction is found by multiplying the Jacobian matrix by the i -th basis vector.
Suppose a function f(x, y, z) = 0, where x, y, and z are functions of each other. Write the total differentials of the variables = + = + Substitute dy into dx = [() + ()] + By using the chain rule one can show the coefficient of dx on the right hand side is equal to one, thus the coefficient of dz must be zero () + = Subtracting the second term and multiplying by its inverse gives the triple ...
By applying the chain rule repeatedly to these operations, partial derivatives of arbitrary order can be computed automatically, accurately to working precision, and using at most a small constant factor of more arithmetic operations than the original program.
The partial derivative of f with respect to x does not give the true rate of change of f with respect to changing x because changing x necessarily changes y. However, the chain rule for the total derivative takes such dependencies into account. Write () = (, ()). Then, the chain rule says
The matrix derivative is a convenient notation for keeping track of partial derivatives for doing calculations. The Fréchet derivative is the standard way in the setting of functional analysis to take derivatives with respect to vectors. In the case that a matrix function of a matrix is Fréchet differentiable, the two derivatives will agree ...
Another method of deriving vector and tensor derivative identities is to replace all occurrences of a vector in an algebraic identity by the del operator, provided that no variable occurs both inside and outside the scope of an operator or both inside the scope of one operator in a term and outside the scope of another operator in the same term ...
If the direction of derivative is not repeated, it is called a mixed partial derivative. If all mixed second order partial derivatives are continuous at a point (or on a set), f is termed a C 2 function at that point (or on that set); in this case, the partial derivatives can be exchanged by Clairaut's theorem:
This order of things puts everything in the direct line of fire of the chain rule; the partial derivatives , and are easy to compute and at the end, the original equation stands ready for immediate use."