Data (computing)

Data (/ˈdeɪtə/ DAY-tə, or /ˈdɑːtə/ DAH-tə; treated as singular, plural, or as a mass noun) is any sequence of one or more symbols given meaning by specific act(s) of interpretation.

Data (or datum – a single unit of data) is not information. Data requires interpretation to become information. To translate data to information, there must be several known factors considered. The factors involved are determined by the creator of the data and the desired information. The term metadata is used to reference the data about the data. Metadata may be implied, specified or given. Data relating to physical events or processes will also have a temporal component. In almost all cases this temporal component is implied. This is the case when a device such as a temperature logger received data from a temperature sensor. When the temperature is received it is assumed that the data has a temporal references of "now". So the device records the date, time and temperature together. When the data logger communicates temperatures, it must also report the date and time (metadata) for each temperature.

Digital data is data that is represented using the binary number system of ones (1) and zeros (0). As opposed to analog representation. In modern (post 1960) computer systems, all data is digital. Data within a computer, in most cases, moves as parallel data. Data moving to or from a computer, in most cases, moves as serial data. See Parallel communication and Serial communication. Data sourced from an analog device, such as a temperature sensor, must pass through an "analog to digital converter" or "ADC" (see Analog-to-digital converter) to convert the analog data to digital data.

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