Introduction to abstract analysis

This book, which grew out of lectures given at the NASA Lewis Research Center, introduces the scientist and engineer with the usual background in applied mathematics to the concepts of abstract analysis. The emphasis is not on preparing the reader to do research in the field but on giving him some of the background necessary for reading the literature of pure mathematics.

Although the material here is by no means original, the presentation differs in some respects from texts on material of this nature. The proofs are more detailed herein and quite easy to follow. We have attempted to indicate how the material relates to and serves as a foundation for more advanced sub- jects. We have also attempted at several places to show how the material covered here relates to the more familiar “real mathematics.” Enough examples are included to illustrate the concepts. No attempt is made to indicate the original sources of the material or even to point out the originators of all the concepts. Contrary to the usual practice, the relation between convergence and continuity on the one hand and algebraic operations on the other is dis- cussed in the abstract setting of linear spaces. This is done principally to familiarize the reader with these very important concepts in a reasonably simple way.