Edinburgh Napier University

  In this paper, we present a new systematic approach to the solution of the hypergeometric-like differential equation and its associated equation. The method produces, tout court, the general solution of these equations in the form of a combination of a standard Rodrigues formula and a ‘generalized’ Rodrigues formula, of a type due originally to Gonçalves [5] and recently considered, again, by Area et al [1]. In addition, a novel analysis of a class of integrals determining the generalized Rodrigues formulae is given, which complements an original analysis of Area et al [1]. Finally, the relation between the hypergeometric-type differential equation and the hypergeometric equation is elucidated further, following the work of Koepf and Masjed-Jamel [7].