A \(q\)-analogue of Faà di Bruno's formula (Q2563717)

This paper deals with obtaining further results in \(q\)-differential calculus. The \(q\)-derivative of \(f(x)\) is denoted by \(D_qf(x)\) or \(f'(x)\) and is defined by \({f(x)-f(qx)\over x-xq}\). By introducing a different notation of \(q\)-analogue of functional composition, a \(q\)-analogue of the chain rule is realized. A \(q\)-analogue of the chain rule (Faà di Bruno's formula) for the \(n\)th derivative of a composite function is obtained, and the result is given in the form of a sum over set partitions and is also given without any reference to set partitions. The paper concludes with a few properties of the \(q\)-analogues of the Bell polynomials which arise naturally in this setting.