Analog Signals

An analog signal, unlike a digital signal, has a continuous electrical signal. An analog signal can be susceptible to outside interference.

One way to understand the difference between analog and digital signals is a light switch. A standard on/off switch would be an example of how a digital signal works. The switch itself isn’t digital, but the on/off state it represents is. While a dimmer switch, which adjusts the level of the light, is an example of how an analog signal works.

Analog()

Analog() function creates an analog pin element. It takes 1 argument, which is what pin is being used.

Analog(pin)

It can be an input or output. Since this is an analog value, it can be any value from 0 to 100.

Output

The analog output is used to control the level of energy put onto a pin. In contrast, a pin that is configured to be Digital() can only be on (fully on) or off, which is 1 and 0 in coding. To set an LED to be half brightness, for example, we can use the Analog() feature and set the output to 50, which is 50%.

var pin = Analog(P0);
Out (pin,50);

pin = Analog(P0)
Out (pin, 50)

BrainStorm

Can you think of things in the real world that use analog signals? Why would someone choose to use an analog signal vs a digital signal?