Generalized trigonometry

Ordinary trigonometry studies triangles in the Euclidean plane R. There are a number of ways of defining the ordinary Euclidean geometric trigonometric functions on real numbers: right-angled triangle definitions, unit-circle definitions, series definitions, definitions via differential equations, definitions using functional equations. Generalizations of trigonometric functions are often developed by starting with one of the above methods and adapting it to a situation other than the real numbers of Euclidean geometry. Generally, trigonometry can be the study of triples of points in any kind of geometry or space. A triangle is the polygon with the smallest number of vertices, so one direction to generalize is to study higher-dimensional analogs of angles and polygons: solid angles and polytopes such as tetrahedrons and n-simplices.