The Use of Least Squares in System Design

Approximation, realization, and alignment in the circuit theoretic sense are the essential ingredients in the development of a large class of physical systems. It is shown that the method of least squares is an effective tool for obtaining "optimum" performance in the three facets of system design. Tangent descent and Taylor Series are recommended for use in the application of least squares to system design. The mathematical processes inherent in this procedure have been programmed for solution by a digital computer. The marriage of digital computers to this means of system design has been compatible, and "offsprings" are displayed to attest to this fact. These examples include: 1) alignment of a one port to match a prescribed magnitude characteristic, and 2) synthesis of all-pass networks into a composite delay equalizer.