A DAW, as the name implies, is strictly digital, but emulates much of the functionality of a traditional analog console. Think of it this way - in a traditional analog studio, there are engineers/mixers who take care of all the technical stuff (tracking, mic placement, eq, compressors, etc) and there are live musicians. Producing with a DAW (ITB, or in the box), most likely all your sounds will come from virtual instruments, drum synths, and the like - and your effects will most likely be digital, so you are both the engineer and the musician.
Obviously, this leads to differences - a DAW will usually have an "arrange" window, where you can compose with midi and manipulate audio tracks. From there, you have a mixer view, which roughly corresponds to a traditional analog console, with sends, effects, and all the usual stuff, but it all happens digitally.
None of this is an absolute - digital has it's place in analog studios, and analog is often used to supplement ITB mixing. If you're not tracking live musicians, though, ITB is probably where you will spend most of your time.