datasignal

Datasignal is a term used in signal processing and data acquisition to denote a signal that conveys information in the form of data values, typically a function of time or another independent variable. In practice, a datasignal may be analog, with continuously varying amplitude, or digital, consisting of discrete levels or samples. The essential property is that it represents information about a system or phenomenon rather than a pure control signal.

Analog datasignals are often converted to digital form through sampling and quantization, introducing sampling rate, resolution and quantization noise. The choice of sampling rate must satisfy the Nyquist criterion to avoid aliasing.

Once acquired, datasignals are conditioned, digitized, encoded for transmission, stored, or analyzed. Common processing steps include filtering, Fourier or spectral analysis, downsampling, compression, and modulation.

Datasignals appear in instrumentation (sensor readouts), telecommunications (data transmission), control systems, multimedia (audio/video streams), and scientific experiments.

Although often used interchangeably with data signal or data stream, datasignal emphasizes the signal carrier form; data signal can also refer to the payload carrying data in a communications context.