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Discrete-time systems allow for mathematically specified processes like the difference equation.

A discrete-time signal s n is delayed by n 0 samples when we write s n n 0 , with n 0 0 . Choosing n 0 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 signalcorresponds 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.

Superposition

S a 1 x 1 n a 2 x 2 n a 1 S x 1 n a 2 S x 2 n
A discrete-time system is called shift-invariant (analogous to time-invariant analog systems ) if delaying the input delays the corresponding output.

Shift-invariant

If S x n y n , Then S x n n 0 y n n 0
We use the term shift-invariant to emphasize that delays can only have integer values in discrete-time, while in analog signals, delays canbe arbitrarily valued.

We want to concentrate on systems that are both linear and shift-invariant. It will be these that allow us thefull power of frequency-domain analysis and implementations. Because we have no physical constraints in "constructing" suchsystems, we need only a mathematical specification. In analog systems, the differential equation specifies the input-outputrelationship in the time-domain. The corresponding discrete-time specification is the difference equation .

The difference equation

y n a 1 y n 1 a p y n p b 0 x n b 1 x n 1 b q x n q
Here, the output signal y n is related to its past values y n l , l 1 p , and to the current and past values of the input signal x n . The system's characteristics are determined by the choices for thenumber of coefficients p and q and the coefficients' values a 1 a p and b 0 b 1 b q .
There is an asymmetry in the coefficients: where is a 0 ? This coefficient would multiply the y n term in the difference equation . We have essentially divided the equation by it, which does not change the input-outputrelationship. We have thus created the convention that a 0 is always one.

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 thatcalculates each output from the previous output values, and the current and previous inputs.

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Source:  OpenStax, Digital signal processing: a user's guide. OpenStax CNX. Aug 29, 2006 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col10372/1.2
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