Sample (signal)
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This article is about sampling a signal. For other uses of sample or sampling, see sample.
A sample refers to a value or set of values at a point in time and/or space. The defining point of a sample is that it is a chosen value out of a continuous signal. The sample can be continuous-valued or discrete-valued.
A theoretical ideal sampler multiplies a continuous signal with a Dirac comb. This multiplication "picks out" values but the result is still continuous-valued. If this signal is then discretized (i.e., converted into a sequence) and quantized along all dimensions it becomes a discrete signal.
