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]
Metadata is ”data about data” which allows computers to process information more effectively.
[Dmoz, 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]
Data that describes information about either online or offline data. Information that characterizes the who, what, where, and how related to data collection. Often, the information refers to special tagged fields in a document that provide information about the document to search engines and other computer applications.
[Bitpipe, 2004]
Synonyms
- Metadata
References
- [Dmoz, 2004] Dmoz Open Directory Project. Library and Information Science/Technical Services/Cataloguing/Metadata/desc.html Metadata definition, Retrieved at: November 2004. http://dmoz.org/Reference/Libraries Library and Information Science/Technical Services/Cataloguing/Metadata/desc.html
- [Bitpipe, 2004] Bitpipe Dictionary. Metadata definition, Retrieved at: November 2004. http://www.bitpipe.com/tlist/Metadata.html
- [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.