What is the difference between a digital camera and a regular point and shoot camera,which one is best to get

Digital cameras us a sensor to capture the image and stores them on a memory card (the most used is the SD memory card).

Regular point and shoot cameras use film.

In the end, the digital camera will cost less to operate.

AND impress your friends

A film camera is still an invaluable tool for many photographers around the world...but it's the 21st century and digital photography has well and truly taken over. Many people have embraced digital technology in a big way because of it's relative low cost, ease of use and the instant gratification (photo wise) it gives.
A digital camera allows you to view your photo immediately after you capture it. If it's no good you can delete it and re-shoot. You can literally shoot hundreds of photos per memory card.
You can shoot small 'movies' with a digital camera.
You can easily upload your photos to your PC. You can edit them or do whatever you wish with them.

With a film camera you can only take a very limited amount of photos per roll (sounds quite archaic compared to today's digital world). Then you have to take your roll of film to be developed...and hopefully all photos will be good. Then if you want those photos on your PC you will need to buy a scanner and spend hours trying to scan all your photos to your computer.

Most people don't have the time or inclination to do that...so buy a digital camera instead.

what are you taking photos for? Family photos should be saved to film. It has proven to last over 100 years if only moderately cared for should the pictures be lost or damaged and the film found later it could be used. It is a simple matter to have film scanned to cd at the time of developing giving a better digital image than most digital cameras provide. If the majority of your images are not important to family in 30 years use digital. They provide excellent images but given recent history the probability or the compatibility of our technology with future generations is not outstanding. Should your digital family pictures become damaged future generations will find it difficult if not impossible to view or reprint the images from the archaic media we use today if technology continues to change at one tenth the rate it is changing today.
One purpose of photography is to preserve our family history ,
film has proven to last through the years. Those with digital may find they are in the same boat with those who saved home movies on beta format.

A regular point and shoot camera uses film, while a digital one uses an electronic sensor.

In terms of image quality, the film camera is better because it can use ISO 400 or 800 film, which is relatively free of grain. This means it can shoot good pictures in low-light conditions.

A comparable digital model will have serious noise problems (similar to grain) at those ISOs, and you'll either have to use flash or accept blotchy and smudgy images.

Of course, the digital model has a significant advantages in convenience, as the images can be reviewed immediately, and are ready to print or put online.

Both types of cameras have similar limitations in that they generally have lenses which do not have an angle wider than 36mm.

Also, the zoom lenses tend to have small apertures at the long end, meaning they need a lot of light to take a picture.

Hope this helps.