On characterizations of classical polynomials

It is well known that the classical families of Jacobi, Laguerre, Hermite, and Bessel polynomials are characterized as eigenvectors of a second order linear differential operator with polynomial coefficients, Rodrigues formula, etc. In this paper we present a unified study of the classical discrete polynomials and q-polynomials of the q-Hahn tableau by using the difference calculus on linear-type lattices. We obtain in a straightforward way several characterization theorems for the classical discrete and q-polynomials of the "q-Hahn tableau". Finally, a detailed discussion of a characterization by Marcellan et al. is presented. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.