What is Digital System Design?

Digital System Design is the study of various types of computing elements such as the software, hardware, network and their uses and applications.

Digital Systems are made up of devices such as logic gates, flip-flops, shift registers and counters. A computer is a perfect example of a digital system. Examples of digital systems include computers,  laptops, ipads, smart watches, smart phones, smart TVs etc. 

Digital Systems are in a way, the opposite of analog systems. Analog systems or devices are electronic systems with a continuously variable signal, in contrast to digital systems where signals usually take two levels and data is represented as a vector of binary variables. 

Analog Computer Systems are mostly a combination of both analog machine and analog media that can measure, record, reproduce, or broadcast continuous information. Examples of analog devices are photocopiers, old land-line telephones, audio tapes, old televisions etc.

There are many various components that forms a computing system. For example personal computer contains Central Processing Unit, Hard Disk, Keyboard, Mouse, Screen etc. Peripheral device may be a digital component connected to the digital system such as Camera or Printer. 

Components of a Digital System

A typical digital computing system has four basic functional elements:

1. input-output equipment,

2. main memory,

3. control unit, and

4. arithmetic-logic unit. 

Features of Digital System Design

1. Combinational Logic Circuits

2. Sequential Logic Circuits.

These are two broad categories of circuits defined within the digital electronics, where one sort of circuit is independent of your time and other depends on time. 

The following are the important differences between combinational and sequential circuit.

1. Definition

Combinational Circuit: The Combinational circuit is that sort of circuit during which the output is independent of your time and only relies on the input present at that specific instant.

Sequential circuit: It is the type of circuit where the output does not only rely on the present input but it also depends on the previous output.

2. Feedback

Combinational circuit: Combinational circuit as an output does not have any dependence on the time instant, no feedback is required for its next output generation.

Sequential circuit: The Sequential circuit output depends on its previous feedback so the output of previous input is then transferred as feedback used with the input for the next output generation.

3. Performance

Combinational Circuit: Because the input of the current instant is merely required just in case of Combinational circuit, it's faster and better in performance as compared to the Sequential circuit.

Sequential circuit: Sequential circuit are comparatively slower and has low performance as compared to the Combinational circuit.

4. Complexity

Combinational Circuit: No implementation of feedback makes the combinational circuit less complex as to be compared to sequential circuit.

Sequential Circuit: However on other hand implementation of feedback makes sequential circuit much more complex as compared to combinational circuit.

5. Elementary Blocks

Combinational Circuit: Elementary building blocks for combinational circuit are logic gates. Sequential Blocks: On other hand building blocks for sequential circuit are flip flops..

6. Operation

Combinational circuit: Combinational circuit are mainly used for arithmetic also as Boolean operations.

Sequential Circuit: On other hand Sequential circuit is mainly used for majorly storing data.

Characteristics of Digital System

Below are some of the important characteristics of Digital System:

1. Data is represented during a digital system as a vector of binary variables.

2. Digital Systems can provide accuracy (dynamic range) and is limited only by the amount of bits to represent a variable

3. Digital systems are less susceptible to error than analog systems.

4. Data representation during a digital system is suitable for error detection and correction.

5. Digital systems are designed during a hierarchical manner using re-useable modules.

Benefits of Digital System Designs:

There are several benefits of digital systems design and some of them are:

1. It is economical and very easy to design.

2. It is alright fitted to both numerical and non-numerical information science .

3. It has high noise immunity.

4. It is easy to duplicate similar circuits and sophisticated digital ICs are manufactured with the arrival of microelectronics Technology.