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Differentiating a function () gives its derivative ’(), which is also a function of . Geometrically, we can view ’() as giving the slope of the tangent at any point on the graph of = () or, equivalently, the rate of change of () with respect to at that point.

Problems encountered so far have mostly been static in that the quantities and equations involved are for a particular period of time. For instance, the current price of a good depends on the current demand of consumers.

There are close similarities between the theories of linear difference equations and linear differential equations. Indeed, differential equations may be regarded as the continuous analogues of difference equations where the variable quantity, such as time, is assumed to flow continuously rather than occurring in discrete intervals.