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Digital means information represented as separate, countable values rather than as a continuously varying signal. Computers commonly encode those values as binary digits—0s and 1s—so they can store, process, copy, and transmit many kinds of information, from text and photographs to music and scientific data.
What “digital” means
The defining feature of digital information is that it is represented by discrete values: distinct symbols or steps from a set of possible values. In computing, the most familiar set is binary, made up of 0 and 1. Those values can be combined to represent more complex information.
Binary is a common way to implement digital information, not the whole meaning of the word. The broader distinction is discrete representation, as opposed to continuous variation. IEEE Technology Navigator describes digital information as information represented by discrete symbols, most commonly binary digits, so computing systems can store, transmit, copy, and process it: IEEE Technology Navigator: Digital information.
How digital differs from analog
Digital and analog describe different ways of representing information. A digital representation uses distinct values; an analog signal varies continuously. The distinction concerns the representation or signal, not whether a device is modern or electronic.
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- Digital: information is encoded as separate values, such as binary digits.
- Analog: a signal varies continuously, as with the changing pressure of sound waves or a continuously varying voltage.
A real-world source can be converted from analog to digital by sampling it and assigning the samples discrete values. The result is a digital representation of the source; the conversion does not make the original analog signal and its digital representation the same thing. Digital information can also be created digitally in the first place.
What can be digital?
Digital systems can represent many kinds of content using computing infrastructure. Examples include:
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- Text, numbers, and documents
- Photographs, illustrations, and other images
- Audio, music, and video
- Software, algorithms, and metadata
- Measurements and other sensor or scientific data
The U.S. Department of Energy’s glossary includes experimental, observational, and simulation data, as well as software, text, numbers, images, video, audio, and metadata among digital scientific data: U.S. Department of Energy glossary.
Digital features—and what they do not guarantee
- Discrete representation: values are distinct and countable rather than continuously varying.
- Common binary encoding: computers often use 0s and 1s, or bits, to represent information.
- Flexible handling: the same kinds of computing systems can store and process very different content, including text, images, audio, and data.
- Copying and transmission: digital information can be copied and sent between systems. This does not mean every copy is always error-free: equipment, transmission, and file formats can affect the result.
Digital does not automatically mean higher quality, more secure, permanent, or lossless. Those properties depend on how information is created, encoded, stored, protected, and maintained.
Where digital technology is used
Everyday life
Phones, tablets, laptops, smart watches, and game consoles use digital information for communication, information searches, work, study, shopping, music, video, and games. A device may also contain analog components; calling a device digital does not mean every part of it uses digital representation. The Finnish National Agency for Education offers accessible examples of digital technology in everyday life: Glossary of digital terms for young children.
Organizations and public services
Organizations use digital information to manage library and archive collections, scientific repositories, business records, health information, legal discovery, technical documentation, and media assets. Digital records can make information available for computing systems to organize and process, but their usefulness still depends on sound data management.
Digital media
Digital media is narrower than digital technology: it refers to electronic media whose data is stored digitally rather than analogically. NIST’s glossary defines the term in this context: NIST CSRC Glossary: digital media.
What binary has to do with digital information
A bit is a binary digit: one of two values, 0 or 1. Intel’s educational explanation uses the elementary model in which those values correspond to transistor off and on states. Groups of bits can represent larger values and encode content such as text, images, or sound: Intel Education: Digital Information.
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The key point is that binary is a practical representation used by computers. It helps explain how digital data is encoded, but “digital” more generally refers to information represented with discrete values.
Quick Recap
How to tell whether something is digital
- Identify what you mean. Are you describing information, a signal, a medium, or a component of a device?
- Check how it is represented. Separate, countable values indicate digital representation; continuous variation indicates analog representation.
- Consider conversion. If a continuous real-world signal was sampled and quantized, its resulting representation is digital even though its source was analog.
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