data
raw data
/day't*/ (Or "raw data")
Numbers, characters, images, or other method of recording,
in a form which can be assessed by a human or (especially)
input into a computer, stored and processed there, or
transmitted on some digital channel. Computers nearly
always represent data in binary.
Data on its own has no meaning, only when interpreted by some
kind of data processing system does it take on meaning and
become information.
For example, the binary data 01110101 might represent the integer
117 or the ASCII lower case U character or the blue component of
a pixel in some video. Which of these it represents is
determined by the way it is processed (added, printed, displayed,
etc.). Even these numbers, characters or pixels however are still
not really information until their context is known, e.g. my bank
balance is £117, there are two Us in "vacuum", you have blue eyes.
(2007-09-10)
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