John D. Cook 5/23/2026

Real and imaginary parts

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This article discusses Henry Baker's approach to implementing functions of a complex variable using real-valued functions u(x, y) and v(x, y). It explains how any elementary complex function can be decomposed into real and imaginary parts that are also elementary, enabling bootstrapping of complex number support in math libraries. The piece also highlights that these components are harmonic functions satisfying Laplace's equation and form harmonic conjugate pairs via the Hilbert transform. Targeted at mathematicians and developers working with complex analysis or numerical libraries.

Real and imaginary parts

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