Sufficient condition for differentiability: Let U⊆RnU\subseteq\mathbb{R}^n be open and let f:U→Rmf:U\to\mathbb{R}^m be a . Fix a∈Ua\in U. Assume that each first-order ∂fi/∂xj\partial f_i/\partial x_j exists on a neighborhood of aa and is continuous at aa (for all components i=1,…,mi=1,\dots,m and coordinates j=1,…,nj=1,\dots,n). Then ff is at aa in the sense of the , and its derivative is the represented by the at aa.

In particular, continuity of the first is a practical hypothesis for verifying differentiability, and it places Df(a)Df(a) in the framework of between .