Computation of the singularities of parametric plane curves (Q2469231)

Plane rational algebraic curves can be described either implicitly as loci of bivariate polynomials, or parametrically as the Zariski closure of a set of points derived from evaluating a pair of rational functions. Both descriptions have their advantages, and transformation algorithms for parametrization and implicitization have been described in the literature. In this paper the author takes a parametric description of a rational curve and gives formulae for certain interesting characteristica of the curve, such as the degree and the multiplicity of singularities. Singularities can even be classified into ordinary and non-ordinary ones without resorting to the implicit defining polynomial of the curve.