Based on modern Sobolev methods, this text for advanced undergraduates and graduate students is highly physical in its orientation. It integrates numerical methods and symbolic manipulation into an elegant viewpoint that is consonant with implementation by digital computer. The first five sections form an informal introduction that develops students' physical and mathematical intuition. The following section introduces Hilbert space in its natural environment, and the next six sections pose and solve the standard problems. The final seven sections feature concise introductions to selected topics, including Sturm-Liouville problems, Fourier integrals, Galerkin's method, and Sobolev methods. 1994 edition. 64 figures. Exercises

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