The term digital comes from the Latin word “digitus” for finger. Technically, it means that information is represented only by a limited number of digits. A device is called digital if it can encode and decode signals and characters. This allows content such as digital media to be read and played back.
For computers, exactly two digits are sufficient for data processing : 0 and 1. Together, they form the binary system. The binary system is represented in the computer and many other electronic devices by switching states: switched on means 1, switched off means 0.
Incidentally, the binary system was developed long before the first computer, by the German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz (1646-1716).
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Nowadays, the term is also used as a synonym for information technology (IT) or simply for new technologies that differ from analog technology, such as smart TV or digital watches.
