Segre Numbers and Hypersurface Singularities

We define the Segre numbers of an ideal as a generalization of the multiplicity of an ideal of finite colength. We prove generalizations of various theorems involving the multiplicity of an ideal such as a principle of specialization of integral dependence, the Rees-B\"oger theorem, and the formula for the multiplicity of the product of two ideals. These results are applied to the study of various equisingularity conditions, such as Verdier's condition W, and conditions $A_f$ and $W_f$.