Systems in the Time-Domain
A discrete-time signal sn is delayed by n0 samples when we write s n n0 , with n0 0 . Choosing n0 to be negative ...
A discrete-time signal sn is delayed by n0 samples when we write s n n0 , with n0 0 . Choosing n0 to be negative advances the signal along the integers. As opposed to analog delays, discrete-time delays can only be integer valued. In the frequency domain, delaying a signal corresponds to a linear phase shift of the signal's discrete-time Fourier transform: ↔ s n n 0 2 f n 0 S 2 f .
Linear discrete-time systems have the superposition property.
We want to concentrate on systems that are both linear and shift-invariant. It will be these that allow us the full power of frequency-domain analysis and implementations. Because we have no physical constraints in "constructing" such systems, we need only a mathematical specification. In analog systems, the differential equation specifies the input-output relationship in the time-domain. The corresponding discrete-time specification is the difference equation.
As opposed to differential equations, which only provide an implicit description of a system (we must somehow solve the differential equation), difference equations provide an explicit way of computing the output for any input. We simply express the difference equation by a program that calculates each output from the previous output values, and the current and previous inputs.