Re: Glossary 0.0.4 [Data]

mountain man wrote:
> Glossary 0.0.4:

>>There are people who think that data doesn't need
>>to mean anything. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data
>>(currently) says "data on its own has no meaning".
>>Somehow this "data has no meaning" idea has caught on.

Thank you. So now the glossary entry should read:

[Data]
"Known facts that can be recorded and have implicit meaning." -- Fundamentals of Database Systems, Elmasri & Navathe.

When people discuss data in the context of database, they are usually talking of something with meaning. There are people who think that data doesn't need to mean anything. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data (currently) says "data may have no meaning". Somehow this "data has no meaning" idea has caught on.

1a. facts
1b. a record on a medium of some fact in the real world. 2. encoded information
3. a combination of sign and meaning