The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
The general definition of data, according to the United States Federal Acquisition Regulations, is "recorded information, regardless of form or the media of which it may be recorded." This definition includes computer software and technical data.
Data is the plural of datum, as single piece of information. In practice, data is used as both the singular and plural form of the word. Practically, data can be thought of as distinct pieces of information. In the context of computing, data can exist in a variety of forms, such as numbers or text on pieces of paper, as a graphic image, or as coded information stored in electronic memory.
The term data is often used to distinguish between that information that is recognizable to a machine (data files) from the information humans can assimilate (text files). Both contain data, although data files contain binary data, and text files contain ASCII data. Database management systems contain several layers of data. Data files store the database information, while other files, called metadata, store administrative information (index files and dictionary information, for example).
Computationally, data is represented using the binary numbering system, and is organized as various packets of information (bit, nibble, byte, word) so as to be logically interpretable to the machine and the operator.