In mathematics, the discrete Fourier transform (DFT), occasionally called the finite Fourier transform, is a transform for Fourier analysis of finite-domain discrete-time signals. As with most Fourier analyses, it expresses an input function in terms of a sum of sinusoidal components by determining the amplitude and phase of each component. However, the DFT is distinguished by the fact that its input function is discrete and finite: the input to the DFT is a finite sequence of real or complex numbers, which makes the DFT ideal for processing information stored in computers. In particular, the DFT is widely employed in signal processing and related fields to analyze the frequencies contained in a sampled signal, to solve partial differential equations, and to perform other operations such as convolutions. The DFT can be computed efficiently in practice using a fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm.
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