The Chain Rule for Fractional-Order Derivatives: Theories, Challenges, and Unifying Directions

The chain rule is a foundational concept in calculus, critical for differentiating composite functions, especially those appearing in modern AI techniques. Its extension to fractional calculus presents challenges due to the integral-based nature and intrinsic memory effects of these fractional operators. This survey provides a review of chain-rule formulations across major known FDs, including Riemann-Liouville (RL), Caputo, Caputo-Fabrizio (CF), Atangana-Baleanu-Riemann (ABR), Atangana-Baleanu-Caputo (ABC), and Caputo-Fabrizio with Gaussian kernel (CFG). The main contribution here is the introduction of a unified criterion, denoted as C, which synthesizes and extends previous classification frameworks for systematically formulating the chain rule across different operators. Each chain rule is examined in terms of its derivation, operator structure, and scope of applicability. In addition, the survey analyzes series-based approximations that appear in computing these derivatives, highlighting the minimum number of terms required to achieve acceptable mean absolute error (MAE). By consolidating theoretical developments, derivation methods, and numerical strategies, this paper provides a comprehensive resource for researchers and practitioners working with fractional-order models.