Pretty simple question, but something I haven't been able to find out. Who was the first person to describe the idea of a pointer? The abstract concept itself?


Question: interpolation of 3D data
Answer: Interpolation. Let's create some 100x3 data matrix, coloumns representing x, y and f(x,y), covering the domain from [1,10], sampled at the integers for both x and y

data = Join[Tuples[{Range[10], Range[10]}], RandomReal[20, {100, 1}], 
   2];


Now, I have to apply Interpolation to the data, but after grouping it as a list of {{x, y}, f[x,y]} values

f = Interpolation[Through@{Most, Last}[#] &amp; /@ data];


You can use f as a regular function, if you keep inside the bounds of your sampling.

Let's see the results graphically 

Show[ListPointPlot3D[data, PlotStyle -&gt; PointSize[Large]], 
 Plot3D[f[x, y], {x, 1, 10}, {y, 1, 10}]]