A bounded
entire function
is constant. That is, a bounded complex function
which is holomorphic
on the entire complex plane
is always a constant function.
More generally, any holomorphic function
which satisfies a polynomial
bound
condition of the form
Liouville's theorem is a vivid example of how stringent the holomorphicity condition on a complex function really is. One has only to compare the theorem to the corresponding statement for real functions (namely, that a bounded differentiable real function is constant, a patently false statement) to see how much stronger the complex differentiability condition is compared to real differentiability.
Applications of Liouville's theorem include proofs of the fundamental theorem of algebra and of the partial fraction decomposition theorem for rational functions.