Fourier Analysis: Discrete Signals and Systems

Abstract

The application of Fourier analysis to continuous-time phenomena has a history going back nearly two hundred years. As we saw in the previous chapter, it has exerted a major influence on the ways in which electronic engineers think about continuous signals and systems. However, recent years have seen dramatic developments in digital electronics, and there has been a corresponding growth of interest in discrete-time Fourier techniques. It is now commonplace to use digital computers for the Fourier analysis of signals, and for investigating the frequency-domain performance of linear systems.

“Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.”

Alphonse Karr (1808–1890)