Key difference: Data usually refers to raw data, or unprocessed data. It is the basic form of data, data that hasn’t been analyzed or processed in any manner. Once the data is analyzed, it is considered as information. In order for data to be transferred electronically, it must first be converted into electromagnetic signals. The signal can then be used to transfer data from one device to another device. The signal can be either analog or digital in nature.

Data is considered to be raw data. It represents ‘values of qualitative or quantitative variables, belonging to a set of items.’ It may be in the form of numbers, letters, or a set of characters. It is often collected via measurements. In data computing or data processing, data is represented by in a structure, such as tabular data, data tree, a data graph, etc.

Data usually refers to raw data, or unprocessed data. It is the basic form of data, data that hasn’t been analyzed or processed in any manner. Once the data is analyzed, it is considered as information.

In order for data to be transferred electronically, it must first be converted into electromagnetic signals. The signal can then be used to transfer data from one device to another device. The signal can be either analog or digital in nature. The analog signal refers to a continuous stream of data, whereas digital signal converts the data into discrete states.

The digital signal is characterized by the representation of discrete units, such as discrete time, discrete frequency, or discrete domain signals. It usually converts the data into zeros and ones, i.e. binary code.

Furthermore, analog signals can have an infinite number of values in range, whereas digital can have only a limited number of values.

Hence, data and signal are two completely different things. Data is raw data, or unprocessed data. Signal, on the other hand, is used to transfer this data from one point to another.

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