We explain what data is in computing and what types of data exist. Also, examples and what is information.
What is a data?
In computing, data are symbolic representations (that is, numerical, alphabetical, algorithmic, etc.) of a certain qualitative or quantitative attribute or variable, that is: the coded description of an empirical fact an event, an entity.
Data is, thus, the information (values or references) that the computer receives through different means, and that is manipulated through the processing of programming algorithms. Its content can be practically anything: statistics, numbers, descriptors, which separately have no relevance for the users of the system, but which together can be interpreted to obtain complete and specific information.
In programming languages, used to create and organize the algorithms that every computer or computing system pursues, data are the expression of the specific characteristics of the entities on which said algorithms operate. That is, they are the initial input, from which information can be processed and composed.
They are particularly important for data structure, a branch of computing that studies the particular way of storing information in minimal portions to achieve efficient later retrieval.
Data types
In computing, when we talk about data types (or simply “type”) we are referring to an attribute that is indicated to the computer regarding the nature of the data that it is preparing to process. This includes delimiting or restricting the data, defining the values it can take, what operations can be performed with it, etc.
Some types of data are:
- Characters Individual digits that can be represented by numerical data (0-9), letters (az), or other symbols.
- Unicode characters Unicode is an encoding standard that allows data to be represented more efficiently, thus allowing up to 65,535 different characters.
- Numerical They can be real numbers or integers, depending on what is necessary.
- Booleans They represent logical values (true or false).
Data Examples
Some examples of computer data can be those that make up the hierarchy of computer data, in an ascending pyramid from the most basic to the most complex:
- Bits Each entry of the binary code language, that is, 1 or 0.
- Characters Numbers, letters or special characters, each formed from a combination of bits. For example: the decimal number 99 corresponds to 1100011 in binary.
- Fields An ordered set of characters, for example a word, such as the first and/or last name of the user filling out an online form.
- Records Arranged sets of fields, such as those needed to log into our email.
- Files Ordered sets of records, such as cookies that web pages save on our system and contain information about the sessions we have started.
Information (in computing)
In computing, information is understood as the set of ordered, sequenced data, processed by a programming algorithm which allow us to recompose a referent, such as a concrete fact or some real meaning.
The recovery of information from data packages or sets is, thus, the final objective of computing, given that computer systems encode and represent information through different mechanisms and languages that allow them to communicate with each other in a way fast and efficient.
