The finite difference solution of the Dirichlet problem on rectangles when a boundary function is given from C1,1 is analyzed. It is shown that the maximum error for a nine-point approximation is of the order of O(h2(|ln  h|+1)) as a five-point approximation. This order can be improved up to O(h2) when the nine-point approximation in the grids which are a distance h from the boundary is replaced by a five-point approximation (“five and nine”-point scheme). It is also proved that the class of boundary functions C1,1 used to obtain the error estimations essentially cannot be enlarged. We provide numerical experiments to support the analysis made. These results point at the importance of taking the smoothness of the boundary functions into account when choosing the numerical algorithms in applied problems.

Quintic B-spline collocation schemes for numerical solution of the regularized long wave (RLW) equation have been proposed. The schemes are based on the Crank–Nicolson formulation for time integration and quintic B-spline functions for space integration. The quintic B-spline collocation method over finite intervals is also applied to the time-split RLW equation and space-split RLW equation. After stability analysis is applied to all the schemes, the results of the three algorithms are compared by studying the propagation of the solitary wave, interaction of two solitary waves and wave undulation.

A posteriori error estimates for a class of elliptic unilateral boundary value problems are obtained for functions satisfying only part of the boundary conditions. Next, we give an alternative approach to the a posteriori error estimates for self-adjoint boundary value problems developed by Aubin and Burchard. Further, we are able to construct an alternative estimate with mild additional assumptions. An example of a linear differential operator of order 2k is given.