Meta data
Data about data. In data processing, meta-data is definitional data that provides information about or documentation of other data managed within an application or environment.
For example, meta-data would document data about data elements or attributes, (name, size, data type, etc) and data about records or data structures (length, fields, columns, etc) and data about data (where it is located, how it is associated, ownership, etc.). Meta-data may include descriptive information about the context, quality and condition, or characteristics of the data.
For example, meta-data would document data about data elements or attributes, (name, size, data type, etc) and data about records or data structures (length, fields, columns, etc) and data about data (where it is located, how it is associated, ownership, etc.). Meta-data may include descriptive information about the context, quality and condition, or characteristics of the data.
[thefreedictionary.com, 2004]
[...] the sum total of what one can say about any information object at any level of aggregation. [...] In general all information objects, regardless of the physical or intellectual form they take, have three features - content, context, and structure - all of which can be reflected through metadata.
[Baca, 2000]
Synonyms
- Metadata
References
- [thefreedictionary.com, 2004] The Computer Language Company Inc, meta-data, The Free Dictionary, Retrieved at: November 2004. http://computing-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Meta-data
- [Baca, 2000]: Murtha Baca, Introduction to Metadata, Getty Research Institute, 2000.