The finite element method (fem for short) is a
general method for approximating the solution of boundary
value problems for partial differential equations. This method
derives from the Ritz (or Gelerkin) method, characteristic for
the finite element method being the choice of the finite dimensional
space, namely, in the case of fem the finite dimensional
space, corresponding to the original space of functions, is the
span of a set of finite element basis functions, as we will see in
the sequel.
