Data

In the most general sense, data refers to a collection of individual values that, when processed, convey information. Computer data is information that is stored and processed digitally on a computer. Data on a computer can take many forms, including text, images, audio, or video. It may be loaded into memory and processed by the computer's CPU, then stored as files in folders on a hard drive or solid-state drive.

Data on a computer is stored as binary data, where every file consists of a series of 1s and 0s called bits. 8 bits make up one byte, which is the basic unit of data storage. Data is encoded using different methods for different data types. For example, text data is stored using a character encoding method like ASCII or Unicode where each letter is represented by a single byte or series of bytes. Image data, meanwhile, is stored by assigning each pixel in a grid a color value using as few as 8 or as many as 32 bits per pixel.

Computers can store data on many different kinds of storage devices. Hard drives and solid-state drives are the most common ways to store data on a computer. Flash drives can easily transfer data from one computer to another. Computers with optical drives can burn data to (re)writable CDs and DVDs. Network-connected computers can transfer data from one computer to another over a local network or the Internet. Reading or transferring digital data does not cause any deterioration or quality loss over time.

Updated December 13, 2022 by Brian P.

quizTest Your Knowledge

Which of the following is measured in megapixels?

A
The size of a computer monitor
0%
B
The color depth of an image
0%
C
The size of an image when printed
0%
D
The resolution of a digital camera sensor
0%
Correct! Incorrect!     View the Megapixel definition.
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