Describe Computer - Data and Information

https://www.computersprofessor.com/2017/08/describe-computer-data-and-information.html
Computer - Data and
Information
Data can be defined as a
representation of facts, concepts, or instructions in a formalized manner,
which should be suitable for communication, interpretation, or processing by
human or electronic machine.
Data
is represented with the help of characters such as alphabets (A-Z, a-z), digits
(0-9) or special characters (+,-,/,*,<,>,= etc.)
What is Information?
Information is organized or
classified data, which has some meaningful values for the receiver. Information
is the processed data on which decisions and actions are based.
For
the decision to be meaningful, the processed data must qualify for the
following characteristics −
·
Timely − Information should be available when required.
·
Accuracy − Information should be accurate.
·
Completeness − Information should be complete.
Data Processing Cycle
Data processing is the re-structuring or re-ordering of data by
people or machine to increase their usefulness and add values for a particular
purpose. Data processing consists of the following basic steps - input,
processing, and output. These three steps constitute the data processing cycle.
·
Input − In this step, the input
data is prepared in some convenient form for processing. The form will depend
on the processing machine. For example, when electronic computers are used, the
input data can be recorded on any one of the several types of input medium,
such as magnetic disks, tapes, and so on.
·
Processing − In this step, the input
data is changed to produce data in a more useful form. For example, pay-checks
can be calculated from the time cards, or a summary of sales for the month can
be calculated from the sales orders.
·
Output − At this stage, the
result of the proceeding processing step is collected. The particular form of
the output data depends on the use of the data. For example, output data may be
pay-checks for employees.