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Re: What is Data?

• From: "Seth Johnson" <seth.johnson@realmeasures.dyndns.org>
• To: "Seth Johnson" <seth.johnson@realmeasures.dyndns.org>, "Costello, RogerL." <costello@m...>, "'xml-dev@l...'" <xml-dev@l...>
• Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:20:23 -0400

> -----Original Message-----
> From: "Costello, Roger L." <costello@mitre.org>
> To: "'xml-dev@lists.xml.org'" <xml-dev@lists.xml.org>
> Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2009 08:23:38 -0400
> Subject:  What is Data?
> 
> > ANOTHER EXAMPLE
> > 
> > This is not data and it contains no data:
> > 
> >     Run really fast.


Subject      Predicate          Object
(You)        imperative         run really fast
fast         adverb             really
run          adverbial phrase?  really fast


> > The sentence contains a verb followed by an adverb followed
> > by an adjective. Verbs, adverbs, and adjectives are not data.
> > 
> > Data are nouns.


Perhaps.  But think of anything as a noun if you wish, then name
the relationship it has with anything that qualifies it.


Seth




> > xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >         Simplification
> > xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > 
> > Recent research suggests that there may be just two
> categories
> > of data:
> >     1. Entities
> >     2. Relationships
> > 
> > An attribute is merely a special case of a relationship.
> > 
> > 
> > EXAMPLE
> > 
> > Above we stated that these represent an entity, attribute,
> and
> > relationship, respectively: 
> > 
> > John Smith
> > Six feet tall
> > Father of
> > 
> > Rather than considering "Six feet tall" as an attribute of
> > entity "John Smith", we can consider "Six" to be an entity
> and
> > there is a relationship (has a height of) between "John
> Smith"
> > and "Six":
> > 
> > John Smith has a height of Six
> > 
> > Thus, in this example there are two entities ("John Smith"
> and
> > "Six") and two relationships ("has a height of" and "Father
> > of")
> > 
> > 
> > xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >         Data and Datum
> > xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > 
> > Data is the plural of datum, a singular item. In practice,
> > however, people use data as both the singular and plural form
> > of the word.
> >
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• References:
  • What is Data?
    • From: "Costello, Roger L." <costello@mitre.org>
  • Re: What is Data?
    • From: "Seth Johnson" <seth.johnson@realmeasures.dyndns.org>