Calculate polynomials and their derivatives

polynomials.clj

; Credit: http://java.ociweb.com/mark/clojure/article.html

(defn- polynomial
  "computes the value of a polynomial
   with the given coefficients for a given value x"
  [coefs x]
  ; For example, if coefs contains 3 values then exponents is (2 1 0).
  (let [exponents (reverse (range (count coefs)))]
    ; Multiply each coefficient by x raised to the corresponding exponent
    ; and sum those results.
    ; coefs go into %1 and exponents go into %2.
    (apply + (map #(* %1 (Math/pow x %2)) coefs exponents))))

(defn- derivative
  "computes the value of the derivative of a polynomial
   with the given coefficients for a given value x"
  [coefs x]
  ; The coefficients of the derivative function are obtained by
  ; multiplying all but the last coefficient by its corresponding exponent.
  ; The extra exponent will be ignored.
  (let [exponents (reverse (range (count coefs)))
        derivative-coefs (map #(* %1 %2) (butlast coefs) exponents)]
    (polynomial derivative-coefs x)))

(def f (partial polynomial [2 1 3])) ; 2x^2 + x + 3
(def f-prime (partial derivative [2 1 3])) ; 4x + 1

(println "f(2) =" (f 2)) ; -> 13.0
(println "f'(2) =" (f-prime 2)) ; -> 9.0