Glossary for Geospatial Science

digital:  Information stored and processed with numerical digits, often in base 2.  Digital information processing is constrained by the finite set of numbers a system uses, such that every data value is forced into its nearest representation.  For example, a digital clock may only show hours, minutes and seconds, but not fractions of a second.  At some point, every digital system faces the same kind of limit in accuracy.  On the other hand, digital information is easy to copy, store, manipulate and reproduce dependably.  (See also: analog.)