Computing - 9.3d other information processes in communication systems

9.3d other information processes in communication systems

Collecting:
Communication devices can be collection devices. For example:

Displaying:

Just like collection devices, certain devices can also be displaying devices. For Example:
- - A phone is also a display device for the use of voice mail
  - An EFTPOS terminal is also a display device for electronic banking

Digital data:

Digital Data is data that is stored and transmitted in two possible states; each digit can be either on or off, represented using electrical impulses that are of high or low voltage
Much of our technology relies on digital data
Computers use the binary system to store and transmit data, i.e. the digits 1 and 0

Analog data:

Analog data is represented in a continuous form in which there are many different possibilities
Analog data can be represented as a wave
It is more difficult to handle this type of data as transmitting it accurately involves sending it in its exact form, and because there are so many more variables it is more easily corrupted

Processing:

Encoding and Decoding Analog and Digital Signals:

Communication systems use both analog and digital data, for this reason, it is often necessary to encode and decode signals
- - Analog data to analog signal - Telephone conversations are the best example here. The system encodes speech and transmits it from sender to receiver.
  - Digital data to analog signal - A digital device will often have to display data in an analog form for humans to understand. This will require encoding the 0’s and 1’s.
  - Digital data to digital signal - This form of transmission has both sender and receiver speaking the same language. One computer on a network is able to communicate directly with another computer.
  - Analog data to digital signal - The analog data is encoded to a series of 0’s and 1’s by dividing the data into two groups across an illogical line.

Formation of Data Packets:

A packet is the unit of data that is routed between an origin and a destination on a network
The structure of a packet depends on the type of packet it is and on the protocol. Normally, a packet has a header and a payload
For example, an IP packet includes;
- - The source IP address
  - The destination IP address
  - The sequence number of the packets
  - The type of service, etc.
  - The payload is the data it carries

Routing:

Routing is the process of selecting paths in a network along which to send network traffic
Routing is performed for many kinds of networks

Encryption and Decryption:

Encryption is the process of transforming information (referred to as plaintext) using an algorithm (called cipher) to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, who obtain the ‘key’.
Decryption is the reverse process where the receiver requires the ‘key’ to decrypt the data.

Page updated

Report abuse