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Digital data

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405:) in analog communications invariably introduce some, generally small deviation or error between the intended and actual communication. Disturbances in digital communication only result in errors when the disturbance is so large as to result in a symbol being misinterpreted as another symbol or disturbing the sequence of symbols. It is generally possible to have near-error-free digital communication. Further, techniques such as check codes may be used to 44: 187: 289:), the status of each can be encoded as bits (usually 0 for released and 1 for pressed) in a single word. This is useful when combinations of key presses are meaningful, and is sometimes used for passing the status of modifier keys on a keyboard (such as shift and control). But it does not scale to support more keys than the number of bits in a single byte or word. 395:, which in this context consists of all the information that the sender and receiver of the digital communication must both possess, in advance, for the communication to be successful. Languages are generally arbitrary and specify the meaning to be assigned to particular symbol sequences, the allowed range of values, methods to be used for synchronization, etc. 296:) usually arrange these switches in a scan matrix, with the individual switches on the intersections of x and y lines. When a switch is pressed, it connects the corresponding x and y lines together. Polling (often called scanning in this case) is done by activating each x line in sequence and detecting which y lines then have a 551:
modulates an analog "carrier" signal (such as sound) to encode binary electrical digital information, as a series of binary digital sound pulses. A slightly earlier, surprisingly reliable version of the same concept was to bundle a sequence of audio digital "signal" and "no signal" information (i.e.
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The digital representation of a continuously variable analog value typically involves a selection of the number of symbols to be assigned to that value. The number of symbols determines the precision or resolution of the resulting datum. The difference between the actual analog value and the digital
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It is estimated that in the year 1986, less than 1% of the world's technological capacity to store information was digital and in 2007 it was already 94%. The year 2002 is assumed to be the year when humankind was able to store more information in digital than in analog format (the "beginning of the
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A symbol input device usually consists of a group of switches that are polled at regular intervals to see which switches are switched. Data will be lost if, within a single polling interval, two switches are pressed, or a switch is pressed, released, and pressed again. This polling can be done by a
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was created sometime between 1000 BC and 500 BC, it later became a form of calculation frequency. Nowadays it can be used as a very advanced, yet basic digital calculator that uses beads on rows to represent numbers. Beads only have meaning in discrete up and down states, not in analog in-between
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According to Miller, "Uncompressed digital data is very large, and in its raw form, it would actually produce a larger signal (therefore be more difficult to transfer) than analog data. However, digital data can be compressed. Compression reduces the amount of bandwidth space needed to send
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uses six digital states—dot, dash, intra-character gap (between each dot or dash), short gap (between each letter), medium gap (between words), and long gap (between sentences)—to send messages via a variety of potential carriers such as electricity or light, for example using an
444:. For example, if the actual temperature is 23.234456544453 degrees, but only two digits (23) are assigned to this parameter in a particular digital representation, the quantizing error is 0.234456544453. This property of digital communication is known as 427:
Because of the inevitable presence of noise, making many successive copies of an analog communication is infeasible because each generation increases the noise. Because digital communications are generally error-free, copies of copies can be made
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Since digital information is conveyed by the sequence in which symbols are ordered, all digital schemes have some method for determining the beginning of a sequence. In written or spoken human languages, synchronization is typically provided by
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errors, in which an extra incorrect symbol is inserted into or deleted from a digital message. Uncorrected errors in digital communications have an unpredictable and generally large impact on the information content of the
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Even though digital signals are generally associated with the binary electronic digital systems used in modern electronics and computing, digital systems are actually ancient, and need not be binary or electronic.
300:, thus which keys are pressed. When the keyboard processor detects that a key has changed state, it sends a signal to the CPU indicating the scan code of the key and its new state. The symbol is then 883: 458:
information. Data can be compressed, sent, and then decompressed at the site of consumption. This makes it possible to send much more information and results in, for example,
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in reference to the fast electric pulses emitted by a device designed to aim and fire anti-aircraft guns in 1942. The term is most commonly used in
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All digital information possesses common properties that distinguish it from analog data with respect to communications:
926: 822:"video animation on The World's Technological Capacity to Store, Communicate, and Compute Information from 1986 to 2010" 259: 251: 767: 1390: 1349: 1244: 656: 571: 70: 212: 50:. The time shown by the digits on the face at any instant is digital data. The actual precise time is analog data. 1264: 1222: 263: 768:"Supporting online material for The World's Technological Capacity to Store, Communicate, and Compute Information" 538:
uses rods or flags held in particular positions to send messages to the receiver watching them some distance away.
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This article is about the concept in information theory and information systems. For the electronics concept, see
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Written text (due to the limited character set and the use of discrete symbols – the alphabet in most cases)
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have distinctive markings that represent letters of the alphabet to allow ships to send messages to each other.
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is perhaps the simplest non-electronic digital signal, with just two states (on and off). In particular,
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can be used for a specific application with no loss of data. However, using a standard encoding such as
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through redundancy or re-transmission. Errors in digital communications can take the form of
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Tocci, R. 2006. Digital Systems: Principles and Applications (10th Edition). Prentice Hall.
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have to be managed during the entire lifecycle from 'birth' to the destruction of the data.
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are one of the oldest examples of a digital signal, where an analog "carrier" (smoke) is
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is problematic if a symbol such as 'ß' needs to be converted but is not in the standard.
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symbols, each of which can take on one of only a finite number of values from some
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signals offering more room on the airwave spectrum for more television channels."
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or converted into a number based on the status of modifier keys and the desired
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with a blanket to generate a digital signal (puffs) that conveys information.
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Heinrich, Lutz J.; Heinzl, Armin; Roithmayr, Friedrich (29 August 2014).
286: 81:. The most common form of digital data in modern information systems is 529: 918: 500: 490: 278:. When a new symbol has been entered, the device typically sends an 215:. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. 548: 368: 316: 274:
specialized processor in the device to prevent burdening the main
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For devices with only a few switches (such as the buttons on a
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of time. An example is the air pressure variation in a
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is a naturally occurring form of digital data storage.
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Discrete, discontinuous representation of information
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in which a symbol is replaced by another symbol, or
1342: 1275: 1191: 1128: 956: 738:Martin Hilbert; Priscila López (10 February 2011). 717:(in German). Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. 748:. Vol. 332, no. 6025. pp. 60–65. 379:. Machine communications typically use special 934: 532:uses a six-bit code rendered as dot patterns. 73:, such as letters or digits. An example is a 8: 349:confidentiality, integrity, and availability 65:, is information represented as a string of 941: 927: 919: 587:Comparison of analog and digital recording 796:Free access to the article through here: 335:Digital data come in these three states: 231:Learn how and when to remove this message 98:, which is represented by a value from a 125:comes from the same source as the words 1113:Application-specific integrated circuit 674: 292:Devices with many switches (such as a 87:, which is represented by a string of 828:from the original on 21 February 2013 389:All digital communications require a 7: 1048:Three-dimensional integrated circuit 845: 843: 94:Digital data can be contrasted with 542:International maritime signal flags 106:. Analog data is transmitted by an 1060:Erasable programmable logic device 25: 1095:Complex programmable logic device 876:"The three states of information" 794:from the original on 31 May 2011. 763:from the original on 31 May 2011. 355:Properties of digital information 682:Ceruzzi, Paul E (29 June 2012). 185: 77:, which consists of a string of 1107:Field-programmable object array 1043:Mixed-signal integrated circuit 407:detect errors and correct them 1: 1233:Hardware description language 1101:Field-programmable gate array 852:Understanding digital culture 714:Wirtschaftsinformatik-Lexikon 684:Computing: A Concise History 260:analog-to-digital conversion 243:Since symbols (for example, 177:Symbol to digital conversion 1245:Formal equivalence checking 880:The University of Edinburgh 657:Digital-to-analog converter 572:Analog-to-digital converter 438:representation is known as 211:the claims made and adding 147:Bell Telephone Laboratories 1412: 1265:Hierarchical state machine 1223:Transaction-level modeling 552:"sound" and "silence") on 547:More recently invented, a 467:Historical digital systems 31: 1166:Digital signal processing 1151:Logic in computer science 1077:Programmable logic device 1037:Hybrid integrated circuit 381:synchronization sequences 1178:Switching circuit theory 1083:Programmable Array Logic 1071:Programmable logic array 850:Miller, Vincent (2011). 1228:Register-transfer level 785:10.1126/science.1200970 754:10.1126/science.1200970 592:Data (computer science) 79:alphanumeric characters 1119:Tensor Processing Unit 554:magnetic cassette tape 51: 36:. For other uses, see 1334:Electronic literature 1288:Hardware acceleration 1156:Computer architecture 1054:Emitter-coupled logic 991:Printed circuit board 262:, such techniques as 46: 1396:Consumer electronics 1260:Finite-state machine 1238:High-level synthesis 1173:Circuit minimization 836:– via YouTube. 602:Digital architecture 525:or a flashing light. 523:electrical telegraph 411:substitution errors, 112:real-valued function 1307:Digital photography 1089:Generic Array Logic 1011:Combinational logic 986:Printed electronics 950:Digital electronics 622:Digital electronics 556:for use with early 171:digital photography 165:numeric form as in 63:information systems 1391:Digital technology 1255:Asynchronous logic 1031:Integrated circuit 996:Electronic circuit 805:/WorldInfoCapacity 647:Digital Revolution 460:digital television 441:quantization error 415:insertion/deletion 306:character encoding 196:possibly contains 59:information theory 52: 1363: 1362: 1312:Digital telephone 1283:Computer hardware 1250:Synchronous logic 861:978-1-84787-497-9 724:978-3-486-81590-0 697:978-0-262-51767-6 642:Digital recording 294:computer keyboard 241: 240: 233: 198:original research 16:(Redirected from 1403: 1016:Sequential logic 943: 936: 929: 920: 896: 895: 893: 891: 886:on 14 April 2021 882:. 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Index

Digital format
Digital signal
Digital

Digital clock
information theory
information systems
discrete
alphabet
text document
alphanumeric characters
binary data
binary digits
continuous
real numbers
analog signal
real-valued function
sound wave
digit
Latin
George Stibitz
Bell Telephone Laboratories
computing
electronics
binary
digital audio
digital photography
original research
improve it
verifying

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