Problem

Source: Romania 1997

Tags: function, induction, algebra, functional equation, IMO 1981, IMO, romania



function $f:\mathbb{N}^{\star} \times \mathbb{N}^{\star} \rightarrow \mathbb{N}^{\star}$ ($\mathbb{N}^{\star}=\mathbb{N}\cup \{0\}$)with these conditon: 1- $f(0,x)=x+1$ 2- $f(x+1,0)=f(x,1)$ 3- $f(x+1,y+1)=f(x,f(x+1,y))$(romania 1997) find $f(3,1997)$