Difference between a sensor and a binary sensor

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I realise this may be a very basic question, but I cant get my head around the difference between a sensor and a binary sensor component.
For example the command line sensor and command line binary sensor?

What are the differences, and when / why would I chose one over the other?

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Very simply:

  • Binary sensor - on or off
  • Sensor - whatever you want - numbers, strings, etc

So, the status of a switch could be a binary sensor - since the switch is either on or off. The status of a dimmer would be a normal sensor, since you want to know what the level is. Similarly a door sensor is normally binary (open or closed), but if you’d a roller door on your garage, its state might be better represented as a normal sensor so you know how open/closed it is.

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Awesome thank you!

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cool thank you