By exploring the relations among functional equations, harmonic analysis and representation theory, we give a unified and very accessible approach to solve three important functional equations - the d'Alembert equation, the Wilson equation, and the d'Alembert long equation - on compact groups.

Let $G$ be a compact group. Let $\sigma$ be a continuous involution of $G$. In this paper, we are concerned by the following functional equation $$\int_{G}f(xtyt^{-1})\,dt+\int_{G}f(xt\sigma(y)t^{-1})\,dt=2g(x)h(y), \quad x, y \in G,$$ where $f, g, h \colonG \mapsto \mathbb{C}$, to be determined, are complex continuous functions on $G$ such that $f$ is central. This equation generalizes d'Alembert's and Wilson's functional equations. We show that the solutions are expressed by means of characters of irreducible, continuous and unitary representations of the group $G$.