Re: Examples of SQL anomalies?
Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2008 16:48:30 -0400
Message-ID: <yWabk.9487$89.2598_at_nlpi069.nbdc.sbc.com>
>"JOG" <jog_at_cs.nott.ac.uk> wrote in message
>news:fc052479-4abb-415d-89fa->8cb5cd432d77_at_j22g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
>I normally accord to the definitions:
>
>information = datum + meaning
>datum = value + description
>
>These are useful, succinct and accord nicely with [ISO 2382-1:1984]:
>“Data: A representation of facts, concepts, or instructions in a
>normalized manner suitable for communication, interpretation, or
>processing by humans or by automatic means”, while giving something a
>bit more formalized in terms of data theory.
>
>In terms of defining value both the output of a function or the
>element of a set seem fine, but then defining a value as being some
>amount or quantity also seems fine.
>
I have a different take:
A value has no value except that which is assigned to it under an interpretation: a value is not the output of just /any/ function, but rather /the/ function that maps language terms to what those terms mean.
Information is just one or more values.
A datum is simply a formatted value that cannot be broken down into a
collection of component values that means the same thing.
Data is just formatted information.