Data and Information

Data and Information

Data is a collection of raw unprocessed facts, figures, and symbols. Computers
process data to create information. Information is data that is organized, meaningful,
and useful. Computer processes several data items to produce a paycheck. Another
example of information is a grade report, which is generated from data items such as
a student name, course names, and course grades.
A user is someone who communicates with a computer or uses the information it
generate s.
Hardware is the electric, electronic, and mechanical equipment that makes up a
computer. Software is the series of instructions that tells the hardware how to per
form tasks. Without software, most hardware is useless. The hardware needs
instructions from software to process data into information.

Data
(1) In computing, data is information that has been translated into a form that is more
convenient to move or process. Relative to today's computers and transmission
media, data is information converted into binary digital form.
2) In computer component interconnection and network communication, data is often
distinguished from "control information," "control bits," and similar terms to identify
the main content of a transmission unit.
3) In telecommunications, data sometimes means digital-encoded information to
distinguish it from analog-encoded information such as conventional telephone voice
calls. In general, "analog" or voice transmission requires a dedicated continual
connection for the duration of a related series of transmissions. Data transmission
can often be sent with intermittent connections in packets that arrive in piecemeal
fashion.
4) Generally and in science, data is a gathered body of facts.
Some authorities and publishers, cognizant of the word's Latin origin and as the
plural form of "datum," use plural verb forms with "data". Others take the view that
since "datum" is rarely used, it is more natural to treat "data" as a singular form.

Information
Information is stimuli that has meaning in some context for its receiver. When
information is entered into and stored in a computer, it is generally referred to as
data. After processing (such as formatting and printing), output data can again be
perceived as information. Data will be converted in to Information after processing.
When information is packaged or used for understanding or doing something, it is
known as knowledge.