For physics students interested in the mathematics they use, and for math students interested in seeing how some of the ideas of their discipline find realization in an applied setting. The presentation strikes a balance between formalism and application, between abstract and concrete. The interconnections among the various topics are clarified both by the use of vector spaces as a central unifying theme, recurring throughout the book, and by putting ideas into their historical context. Enough of the essential formalism is included to make the presentation self-contained.

《特殊函数概论/经典系列》较系统地讲述一些主要的特殊函数，如г函数、ζ函数、超几何函数、勒让德函数、合流超几何函数、贝塞耳函数、椭圆函数、椭球谐函数、马丢(Mathieu)函数等。同时也阐明一些在讨论特殊函数时常用的概念和理论，如关于函数的级数展开和无穷乘积展开，渐近展开，线性常微分方程的级数解法和积分解法等。在各章之末还附有习题，习题中包含了一些有用的公式作为本书正文的补充。
《特殊函数概论/经典系列》可供数学系、物理系的师生以及数学、物理和工程技术界的研究人员参考之用。本书由王竹溪、郭敦仁编著。