Definition and Explanation of The Data and Types of Data:
Definition and Explanation:
Data is a collection of facts and figures related to an object (or entity) that can be processed to produce meaningful information ( or to generate different reports). The object may be a person (or student), an organization, an event or any other things etc. The data may be in the form of text, numbers, images, sounds or even videos.
Example:
The data of students of a college may be collected to prepare their result. The data of students may look like the following:
| A |
62 |
63 |
64 |
| B |
50 |
75 |
70 |
| C |
90 |
80 |
70 |
| D |
75 |
80 |
60 |
The above data does not convey proper meanings, because it has no relation among given values and there is no proper labeling of data values.
In an organization data is very important. It gives view of past activities or history (rise and fall) and enables to make better decisions for future. Data about the organization enables managers for making various decisions to perform different operations to get accurate results.
Types of Data:
Data can be divided into following types. These are:
1. Numeric Data.
2. Alphabetic Data.
3. Alphanumeric Data.
4. Image Data
5. Audio Data
6. Video Data
1. Numeric Data:
Numeric Data consists of digits 6 to 9, +, and - signs and decimal point. For example 420, 3.543, -7.2, 302 etc. The numeric data is also, further classified as:
Integer data: Integer data consists of positive or negative whole value: including 0. For example, 420, 302, +62, -26 etc.
Real data: Integer data consists of values that have decimal point. For example, 15.4, .006, 4.07, -6.27, 4.0 etc.,
2. Alphabetic Data:
Alphabetic data consists of all the alphabet letters, i.e. A to Z and a to z. For example, Layca, Boher, Asia etc.
3. Alphanumeric Data:
Alphanumeric data consists of alphabet letters, numeric digits (0 - 9) and special characters such as #, $, etc. For example, 23-March 1940, 28-May 1998, F-16 etc.
4. Image Data:
This type of data may consist of charts, graphs, pictures and freehand drawings. For example, rise and fall of temperature during a day can be represented by a chart. Image data is also represented by bit patterns. The data is sent as contiguous bits.
5. Audio Data:
Sound data is a representation of audio, which may be any music, speech or any other sound stored electronically. It is continuous and not discrete. The audio data is in the form of continuous signal. It is converted into digital form before entering it into the computer.
Audio data can be recorded in a computer in spoken or voice form using microphone connected to the computer. Such type of data can be processed and later on listened on speaker connected to the computer.
6. Video Data:
Video data consists of full-motion images that create actions and movements. It can be produced by a video camera.
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