The synthesis of dynamical systems
R. W. Brockett · Quarterly of Applied Mathematics · 1972
A significant part of contemporary applied mathematics is concerned directly with communication, control and computation. In these fields many of the central problems involve the synthesis of algorithms, or dynamical systems, as opposed to the analysis of dynamical systems which predominates in mathematical physics. Arithmetic and numerical algorithms, finite-state machines and electrical filters are examples of the types of dynamical systems which are frequently needed to operate on data, in continuous or discrete form, and to produce data on a compatible time scale. In this paper we discuss the scope and success of some of the synthesis procedures currently available to treat these problems.