Data (computing)

Data is a sequence of numbers, words, or other symbols. Data needs to be explained to become information. Digital data is data stored using the binary system, and is 1s and 0s. In computer systems invented after 1960, all data is digital. Data can be transported over a network or in memory, be changed, or be stored and be inactive. Data moving inside of a computer moves in multiple of these binary digits, in multiple conductors. Data that comes from a system that detects temperature is often analog and needs to become many binary digits, instead. Data that is used for numbers, characters, or symbols is stored using various magnets, a disc, electronics, or mechanically.^[1] Data goes into and out of various other devices attached to the computer. Memory elements often use a hexadecimal address, and 1 byte of storage. Data is, many times, stored in databases. A visual, such as a graph, can be created out of data.

1. ↑ "Data". Lexico. Retrieved 14 January 2022.^{[permanent dead link]}