Data, Information and Knowledge
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Data:
Facts and figures which relay something specific, but which are not organized in any way and which provide no further information regarding patterns, context, etc. So data means "unstructured facts and figures that have the least impact on the typical manager."
Information:
For data to become information, it must be contextualized, categorized, calculated and condensed. Information thus paints a bigger picture; it is data with relevance and purpose. It may convey a trend in the environment, or perhaps indicate a pattern of sales for a given period of time. Essentially information is found "in answers to questions that begin with such words as who, what, where, when, and how many".
Knowledge:
Knowledge is closely linked to doing and implies know-how and understanding. The knowledge possessed by each individual is a product of his experience, and encompasses the norms by which he evaluates new inputs from his surroundings.
The content of the human mind can be classified into four categories:
1. Data: symbols
2. Information: data that are processed to be useful; provides answers to "who", "what", "where", and "when" questions
3. Knowledge: application of data and information; answers "how" questions
4. Wisdom: evaluated understanding.
We need to understand that processing data produced Information and process Information produces Knowledge and so on
Characteristics of Computer
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Speed, accuracy, diligence, storage capability and versatility are some of the key characteristics of a computer. A brief overview of these characteristics are
• Speed:
The computer can process data very fast, at the rate of millions of instructions per second. Some calculations that would have taken hours and days to complete otherwise, can be completed in a few seconds using the computer. For example, calculation and generation of salary slips of thousands of employees of an organization, weather forecasting that requires analysis of a large amount of data related to temperature, pressure and humidity of various places, etc.
• Accuracy: Computer provides a high degree of accuracy. For example, the computer can accurately give the result of division of any two numbers up to 10 decimal places.
• Diligence: When used for a longer period of time, the computer does not get tired or fatigued. It can perform long and complex calculations with the same speed and accuracy from the start till the end.
• Storage Capability: Large volumes of data and information can be stored in the computer and also retrieved whenever required. A limited amount of data can be stored, temporarily, in the primary memory. Secondary storage devices like floppy disk and compact disk can store a large amount of data permanently.
• Versatility: Computer is versatile in nature. It can perform different types of tasks with the same ease. At one moment you can use the computer to prepare a letter document and in the next moment you may play music or print a document. Computers have several limitations too. Computer can only perform tasks that it has been programmed to do.
Computer cannot do any work without instructions from the user. It executes instructions as specified by the user and does not take its own decisions.