Structure and Interpretation of Signals and Systems

Signals convey information. Systems transform signals. This book introduces the mathematical models used to design and understand both. It is intended for students interested in developing a deep understanding of how to digitally create and manipulate signals to measure and control the physical world and to enhance human experience and communication. The discipline known as “signals and systems” is rooted in the intellectual tradition of electrical engineering (EE). This tradition, however, has evolved in unexpected ways. EE has lost its tight coupling with the “electrical.” So although many of the techniques introduced in this book were first developed to analyze circuits, today they are widely applied in information processing, system biology, mechanical engineering, finance, and many other disciplines. This book approaches signals and systems from a computational point of view. A more traditional introduction to signals and systems would be biased towards the historic application, analysis and design of circuits. It would focus almost exclusively on linear time-invariant systems, and would develop continuous-time models first, with discretetime models then treated as an advanced topic.