On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences
The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (OEIS) is a web-based searchable database of integer sequences. It is considered one of the major resources in mathematics.
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2 Significance 3 History 4 Papers on OEIS by Neil Sloane 5 External links |
The database
The Encyclopedia is a database recording information on integer sequences that are of interest in mathematics. The database contains over 93000 sequences as of April 2004. Each entry contains the leading terms of the sequence, keywords, mathematical motivations, literature links, and more.
The database is fully searchable, both by keyword and by a subsequence of terms.
Significance
The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences is perceived by many as the most authoritative reference in the field of integer sequences. Most work in which such sequences appear (including Wikipedia) contains references to the database.
For professional mathematicians and amateurs alike, OEIS is one of the major online resources in mathematics. It is the largest database of its kind worldwide, and receives thousands of hits per day. Part of its success is no doubt the fact that the database continues to be offered free of charge.
History
Neil Sloane started collecting integer sequences as a student in the mid-1960's to support his work in combinatorics. He published selections from the database in book form twice:
- A Handbook of Integer Sequences (1973, ISBN 012648550X), containing 2400 sequences.
- The Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (1995, ISBN 0125586302), containing 5487 sequences.
Neil Sloane has personally managed 'his' sequences for almost 40 years, but starting 2002 a board of associate editors has helped maintain the database. Volunteers can get involved too.
As a spin-off from the database work, Sloane founded the Journal of Integer Sequences in 1998.
Papers on OEIS by Neil Sloane
External links