Information about Data (computing)
In computer science, data is any information in a form suitable for use with a computer[1]. Data is often distinguished from programs. A program is a set of instructions that detail a task for the computer to perform. In this sense, data is thus everything that is not program code[2].
In an alternate usage, binary files (which are not human-readable) are sometimes called "data", as distinguished from human-readable "text" [3].
Data vs programs
Fundamentally, computers follow the instructions they are given. A set of instructions to perform a given task (or tasks) is called a "program". In the nominal case, the program, as executed by the computer, will consist of binary machine code. The elements of storage manipulated by the program, but not actually executed by the CPU, contain data.Typically, different files are used to store programs vs data. Executable files contain programs; all other files are data files. However, executable files may also contain data which is "built-in" to the program. In particular, some executable files have a data segment, which nominally contains constants and initial values (both data).
For example: A user might first instruct the operating system to load a word processor program from one file, and then edit a document stored in another file. In this example, the document would be considered data. If the word processor also features a spell checker, then the dictionary (word list) for the spell checker would also be considered data. The algorithms used by the spell checker to suggest corrections would be considered code.
The line between program and data can become blurry. An interpreter, for example, is a program. The input data to an interpreter is itself a program -- just not one expressed in native machine language. In many cases, the interpreted program will be a human-readable text file, which is manipulated with a text editor -- more normally associated with plain text data.
A more fundamental view
More fundamentally in programming, data is any evolving state. Code is a particular, very structured kind of data, which constitutes a way to specify what is being programmed. Code is specific in that it has a particular structure, imposed by the designer of the system which executes it. Sometimes, this structure is the only way to specify the behavior of a program. The notion that code is also data is harnessed in the design of functional languages to establish so-called expressive power.
References
1. ^ data. American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Retrieved on 2007-03-19.
2. ^ data. Webopedia. Retrieved on 2007-03-19.
3. ^ file(1). OpenBSD Manual Pages (2004-12-04). Retrieved on 2007-03-19.
2. ^ data. Webopedia. Retrieved on 2007-03-19.
3. ^ file(1). OpenBSD Manual Pages (2004-12-04). Retrieved on 2007-03-19.
See also
Computer science, or computing science, is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their implementation and application in computer systems.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
computer is a machine which manipulates data according to a list of instructions.
Computers take numerous physical forms. The first devices that resemble modern computers date to the mid-20th century (around 1940 - 1941), although the computer concept and various machines
..... Click the link for more information.
Computers take numerous physical forms. The first devices that resemble modern computers date to the mid-20th century (around 1940 - 1941), although the computer concept and various machines
..... Click the link for more information.
A computer program is one or more instructions that are intended for execution by a computer. Specifically, it is a symbol or combination of symbols forming an algorithm that may or may not terminate, and that algorithm is written in a programming language.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
instruction is a single operation of a processor defined by an instruction set architecture. In a broader sense, an "instruction" may be any representation of an element of an executable program, such as a bytecode.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
source code (commonly just source or code) is any sequence of statements and/or declarations written in some human-readable computer programming language.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
binary file is a computer file which may contain any type of data, encoded in binary form for computer storage and processing purposes; for example, computer document files containing formatted text.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
text file.]]
A text file is a generic description of a kind of computer file in a computer file system.[1] At this generic level of description, there are two kinds of computer files: 1) text files; and 2) binary files.
..... Click the link for more information.
A text file is a generic description of a kind of computer file in a computer file system.[1] At this generic level of description, there are two kinds of computer files: 1) text files; and 2) binary files.
..... Click the link for more information.
A computer program is one or more instructions that are intended for execution by a computer. Specifically, it is a symbol or combination of symbols forming an algorithm that may or may not terminate, and that algorithm is written in a programming language.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Execution in computer and software engineering is the process by which a computer or virtual computer carries out the instructions of a computer program. The term run is used almost synonymously.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
binary file is a computer file which may contain any type of data, encoded in binary form for computer storage and processing purposes; for example, computer document files containing formatted text.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Machine code or machine language is a system of instructions and data directly executed by a computer's central processing unit. Machine code is the lowest-level of abstraction for representing a computer program.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Computer data storage, computer memory, and often casually storage or memory refer to computer components, devices and recording media that retain digital data used for computing for some interval of time.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
central processing unit (CPU), or sometimes simply processor, is the component in a digital computer capable of executing a program.(Knott 1974) It interprets computer program instructions and processes data.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
computer file is a block of arbitrary information, or resource for storing information, which is available to a computer program and is usually based on some kind of durable storage.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
executable or executable file, in computer science, is a file whose contents are meant to be interpreted as a program by a computer.
While a file in source form may be executable, such a file is usually referred to as a "script.
..... Click the link for more information.
While a file in source form may be executable, such a file is usually referred to as a "script.
..... Click the link for more information.
A data file is a computer file which stores data for use by a computer application or system. It generally does not refer to files that contain instructions or code to be executed (typically called program files), or to files which define the operation or structure of an
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
A data segment is one of the sections of a program in an object file or in memory, which contains the global variables that are initialized by the programmer. It has a fixed size, since all of the data in this section is set by the programmer before the program is loaded.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
User in a computing context refers to one who uses a computer system. Users may need to identify themselves for the purposes of accounting, security, logging and resource management.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
An operating system (OS) is the software that manages the sharing of the resources of a computer. An operating system processes system data and user input, and responds by allocating and managing tasks and internal system resources as a service to users and programs of the
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
A word processor (more formally known as document preparation system) is a computer application used for the production (including composition, editing, formatting, and possibly printing) of any sort of printable material.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
A document file format is a text or binary file format for storing documents on a storage media, especially for use by computers. There currently exist a multitude of incompatible document file formats. The file format currently used by Microsoft Word (.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
In computing, a spell checker is a software program designed to verify the spelling of words. A spell checker helps a user to ensure correct spelling, while suggesting corrections for wrongly spelled words.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
In mathematics, computing, linguistics, and related disciplines, an algorithm is a finite list of well-defined instructions for accomplishing some task that, given an initial state, will proceed through a well-defined series of successive states, eventually terminating in an
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
source code (commonly just source or code) is any sequence of statements and/or declarations written in some human-readable computer programming language.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
In computer science, an interpreter is a computer program that executes, or performs, instructions written in a computer programming language. Interpretation is one of the two major ways in which a programming language can be implemented, the other being compilation.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Input is the term denoting either an entrance or changes which are inserted into a system and which activate/modify a process. It is an abstract concept, used in the modeling, system(s) design and system(s) exploitation. It is usually connected with other terms, e.g.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Machine code or machine language is a system of instructions and data directly executed by a computer's central processing unit. Machine code is the lowest-level of abstraction for representing a computer program.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
text file.]]
A text file is a generic description of a kind of computer file in a computer file system.[1] At this generic level of description, there are two kinds of computer files: 1) text files; and 2) binary files.
..... Click the link for more information.
A text file is a generic description of a kind of computer file in a computer file system.[1] At this generic level of description, there are two kinds of computer files: 1) text files; and 2) binary files.
..... Click the link for more information.
text editor is a type of program used for editing plain text files.
Text editors are often provided with operating systems or software development packages, and can be used to change configuration files and programming language source code.
..... Click the link for more information.
Text editors are often provided with operating systems or software development packages, and can be used to change configuration files and programming language source code.
Plain text files vs.
..... Click the link for more information.
plain text is textual material in a computer file which is unformatted and without very much processing readable by simple computer tools such as line printing text commands, in Windows'es DOS window
..... Click the link for more information.
type, and in Unix terminal window cat...... Click the link for more information.
This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
Herod_Archelaus
