Uniform B-spline approximation in Sobolev spaces

A new method for approximating functions by uniform B-splines is presented. It is based on the orthogonality relations for uniform B-splines in weighted Sobolev spaces, as introduced in (Reif, 1997). The scheme is local and the approximation order is optimal. Moreover, also constrained approximation problems can be solved efficiently; the size of the linear system to be solved is given by the number of constraints. Applying the method to spline conversion problems specifies new weights for knot removal and degree reduction. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.