Before we try to understand SVD, here is a quick overview of linear algebra and matrix theory concepts. Although a comprehensive discussion on these topics is outside the scope of this book, a brief discussion is definitely in order:
- Scalar: A single number is termed a scalar. A scalar represents the magnitude of an entity. For example, the speed of a car is 60 miles/hour. Here, the number 60 is a scalar.
- Vectors: An array of multiple scalars arranged in an order is called a vector. Typically, vectors define magnitude as well as direction, and are considered points in space.
- Matrix: This is a two-dimensional array of scalars. Each element of a matrix is represented by a coordinate index. A matrix ...
