Solving nonlinear equations by a new derivative free iterative method

We develop a new simple iteration formula, which does not require any derivatives of f(x), for solving a nonlinear equation f(x) = 0. It is proved that the convergence order of the new method is quadratic. Furthermore, the new method can approximate complex roots. By several numerical examples we show that the presented method will give desirable approximation to the root without a particularly good initial approximation and be efficient for all cases, regardless of the behavior of f(x). (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.