Introduction

SIGNALS AND SYSTEMS
AND COMMUNICATION
SYSTEMS
COMMUNICATION
Communication is the transfer of data from one device to another via some
form of transmission medium.
The effectiveness of a data communications system depends on four
fundamental characteristics:
Delivery
Accuracy
Timeliness
Jitter
DELIVERY
The system must deliver data to the correct destination
Data must be received by the intended device or user and only by that
device or user.
ACCURACY
The system must deliver the data accurately.
Data that have been altered in transmission and left uncorrected are
unusable.
TIMELINESS
The system must deliver data in a timely manner.
Data delivered late are useless. In the case of video and audio, timely
delivery means delivering data as they are produced, in the same order
that they are produced, and without significant delay.
This kind of delivery is called real-time transmission.

JITTER
Jitter refers to the variation in the packet arrival time.
It is the uneven delay in the delivery of audio or video packets.

COMPONENTS OF COMMUNICATION
A data communications system has five components
1. MESSAGE
The message is the information (data) to be communicated.
Popular forms of information include text, numbers, pictures, audio,

and video.
2. SENDER
The sender is the device that sends the data message.
It can be a computer, workstation, telephone handset, video camera,

and so on.
3. RECEIVER
The receiver is the device that receives the message.
It can be a computer, workstation, telephone handset, television, and

so on.
4. TRANSMISSION MEDIUM
The transmission medium is the physical path by which a message

travels from sender to receiver.
Some examples of transmission media include twisted-pair wire,

coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable, and radio waves.
5 PROTOCOL
A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communications.
It represents an agreement between the communicating devices.
Without a protocol, two devices may be connected but not

communicating, just as a person speaking French cannot be
understood by a person who speaks only Japanese.
DATA REPRESENTATION
Information today comes in different forms such as

Text
Numbers
Images
Audio
Video
TEXT
In data communications, text is represented as a bit pattern, a

sequence of bits (0s or 1s).
Different sets of bit patterns have been designed to represent text

symbols.
Each set is called a code, and the process of representing symbols is

called coding.
NUMBER
Numbers are also represented by bit patterns.
The number is directly converted to a binary number to simplify

mathematical operations.
IMAGE
Images are also represented by bit patterns.
In its simplest form, an image is composed of a matrix of pixels (picture
elements), where each pixel is a small dot.
The size of the pixel depends on the resolution. For example, an image can
be divided into 1000 pixels or 10,000 pixels.
In the second case, there is a better representation of the image (better
resolution), but more memory is needed to store the image.
AUDIO
Audio refers to the recording or broadcasting of sound or music.
Audio is by nature different from text, numbers, or images. It is

continuous, not discrete.
Even when we use a microphone to change voice or music to an

electric signal, we create a continuous signal.
VIDEO
Video refers to the recording or broadcasting of a picture or movie.
Video can either be produced as a continuous entity (e.g., by a TV

camera), or it can be a combination of images, each a discrete entity,
arranged to convey the idea of motion.
DATA FLOW
Communication between two devices can be

simplex,
half-duplex,
full-duplex
DATA FLOW
SIMPLEX
In simplex mode, the communication is unidirectional, as on a one-way street.
Only one of the two devices on a link can transmit; the other can only receive.
Keyboards and traditional monitors are examples of simplex devices.
The keyboard can only introduce input; the monitor can only accept output.
The simplex mode can use the entire capacity of the channel to send data in one
direction.
HALF-DUPLEX
In half-duplex mode, each station can both transmit and receive, but not at the same time.
When one device is sending, the other can only receive, and vice versa
The half-duplex mode is like a one-lane road with traffic allowed in both directions.
When cars are traveling in one direction, cars going the other way must wait.
In a half-duplex transmission, the entire capacity of a channel is taken over by whichever
of the two devices is transmitting at the time. Walkie-talkies and CB (citizens band) radios
are both half-duplex systems. The half-duplex mode is used in cases where there is no
need for communication in both directions at the same time; the entire capacity of the
channel can be utilized for each direction.
FULL-DUPLEX
 In full-duplex mode (also called duplex), both stations can transmit and receive simultaneously
 In full-duplex mode, signals going in one direction share the capacity of the link with signals going
in the other direction.
 This sharing can occur in two ways: Either the link must contain two physically separate
transmission paths, one for sending and the other for receiving; or the capacity of the channel is
divided between signals traveling in both directions.
 One common example of full-duplex communication is the telephone network. When two people
are communicating by a telephone line, both can talk and listen at the same time. The full-duplex
mode is used when communication in both directions is required all the time.
PRACTICE PROBLEMS
1. Identify the five components of a data communications system.
2. What is the difference between half-duplex and full-duplex

transmission modes?
3. A color image uses 16 bits to represent a pixel. What is the

maximum number of different colors that can be represented?

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SIGNALS AND SYSTEMS

The system must deliver data to the correct destination

The system must deliver the data accurately.

The system must deliver data in a timely manner.

This kind of delivery is called real-time transmission.

Jitter refers to the variation in the packet arrival time.

It is the uneven delay in the delivery of audio or video packets.

The message is the information (data) to be communicated.

Popular forms of information include text, numbers, pictures, audio,

The sender is the device that sends the data message.

It can be a computer, workstation, telephone handset, video camera,

The receiver is the device that receives the message.

It can be a computer, workstation, telephone handset, television, and

The transmission medium is the physical path by which a message

Some examples of transmission media include twisted-pair wire,

A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communications.

It represents an agreement between the communicating devices.

Without a protocol, two devices may be connected but not

Information today comes in different forms such as

In data communications, text is represented as a bit pattern, a

Different sets of bit patterns have been designed to represent text

Each set is called a code, and the process of representing symbols is

Numbers are also represented by bit patterns.

The number is directly converted to a binary number to simplify

Audio refers to the recording or broadcasting of sound or music.

Audio is by nature different from text, numbers, or images. It is

Even when we use a microphone to change voice or music to an

Video refers to the recording or broadcasting of a picture or movie.

Video can either be produced as a continuous entity (e.g., by a TV

Communication between two devices can be

Keyboards and traditional monitors are examples of simplex devices.

1. Identify the five components of a data communications system.

2. What is the difference between half-duplex and full-duplex

3. A color image uses 16 bits to represent a pixel. What is the

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