from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
data
raw data
<data, data processing, jargon> /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)