# Discrete time and continuous time
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## Microsims — p5.js
### Discrete time and continuous time (p5.js) · `n vs t`
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<iframe src="https://editor.p5js.org/sciencenibber/full/SgHs1GrNu" width="100%" height="480" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin" title="Discrete time and continuous time — p5.js microsim"></iframe>
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*The two clocks of signals — a sequence of instants versus a continuous flow — and how sampling bridges them.*
**Open in the editor:** [▶ fork this sketch](https://editor.p5js.org/sciencenibber/sketches/SgHs1GrNu) · movement *IX · Foundations & the rest of the toolbox* · library `p5js`
### Related microsims
Live sims on neighbouring articles — 6 of them inside this article's own Wikipedia link tree:
- [[Analog_signal]] *(in tree)*
- [[Detection_theory]] *(in tree)*
- [[Digital_image_processing]] *(in tree)*
- [[Digital_signal_processing]] *(in tree)*
- [[Discrete_cosine_transform]] *(in tree)*
- [[Estimation_theory]] *(in tree)*
*Sim hosted off-article; the article owns the reference, not the runtime (WIKI_RULES §10.4). Placed by `g08_place_microsims.py`.*
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## Links (Wikipedia order)
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`Advanced_z-transform` · `Aliasing` · [[Analog_signal]] · `Anti-aliasing_filter` · `Audio_signal_processing` · `Bernoulli_process` · `Bilinear_transform` · `Calendar_year` · `Connected_space` · `Constant-Q_transform` · `Continuous_function` · `Continuum_(set_theory)` · `Countable_set` · [[Detection_theory]] · [[Differential_equation]] · `Digital_data` · [[Digital_image_processing]] · [[Digital_signal_processing]] · `Discrete-time_Fourier_transform` · `Discrete_Fourier_transform` · `Discrete_calculus` · [[Discrete_cosine_transform]] · `Discrete_system` · `Discretization` · `Downsampling_(signal_processing)` · [[Estimation_theory]] · `Excess_demand_function` · `Gross_domestic_product` · `Impulse_invariance` · `Income` · `Infinitesimal` · `Infinity` · `Integer` · [[Integral_transform]] · [[Laplace_transform]] · `Logistic_map` · `Matched_Z-transform_method` · `Measurement` · `Natural_number` · `Nyquist_frequency` · `Nyquist_rate` · [[Nyquist–Shannon_sampling_theorem]] · `Oversampling` · `Parameter` · [[Physics]] · `Price` · `Quantity` · [[Quantization_(signal_processing)]] · `Real_number` · `Regression_analysis` · [[Sampling_(signal_processing)]] · `Scientific_theory` · [[Sequence]] · `Speech_processing` · `Starred_transform` · `Step_function` · `Time-scale_calculus` · [[Time_series]] · `Uncountable_set` · `Undersampling` · `Upsampling` · `Variable_(mathematics)` · [[Z-transform]] · `Zak_transform`
> Signal Processing concept · part of the Signal Processing Portal · movement IX · !09 解析 kaiseki.svg
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## See it next
[](Continuous-time_signal)
*→ Continuous-time signal*
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Back to Signal Processing Portal · the room · Semiotic gateway
## What it is
Discrete time and continuous time are the two ways of modeling how a signal or system varies with time: continuous time treats time as a real-valued continuum, while discrete time treats it as a sequence of distinct instants, usually equally spaced samples.
## How it works / why it matters
A continuous-time signal is defined for every instant and described by functions of a real variable, whereas a discrete-time signal is defined only at integer sample indices and described by sequences. Sampling converts continuous time to discrete time, and under the Nyquist–Shannon condition the samples preserve all information; this distinction determines whether calculus-based tools (differential equations, Laplace transforms) or difference-equation and z-transform methods apply.
## Signs & universals
Instantiates:
- signal — the concepts classify signals by their time index
- system — systems are analyzed as continuous- or discrete-time systems
- measurement — sampling is a measurement mapping continuous time to discrete instants
## Related
Continuous-time signal, Discrete-time signal, Continuous signal, [[Analog_signal]], Digital signal (signal processing), [[Time_domain]]
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*Built to the [[WT!P5_js_Microsim_Master_Class|p5.js Master Class]].*
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## Wikipedia : Wikitube
**Strict pair:** [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discrete_time_and_continuous_time) : [Wikitube](https://en.wikitube.io/wiki/Discrete_time_and_continuous_time)
## Previous hub tags
Tree parents: [[Control_theory]] · [[Dynamical_system]] · [[System_dynamics]].
Legacy hubs: none.
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*Sources: 1 legacy note. Minted wave 1, 2026-07-30 (v1.6 order).*