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What is Data?
- is a collection of facts such as numbers, descriptions, objects, and observations used in decision-making.
- is a data stored in a structured, semi-structured, and unstructured way.
We can classify data as Structured, Semi-structured, and Unstructured.
- data that follows a schema and has the same fields or attributes throughout. This may be put in a table with rows and columns in a database.
- data that can be stored in a database table with rows and columns.
- data that adheres to a pre-defined data model and is therefore straightforward to analyze.
- structured data conforms to a tabular format with a relationship between the different rows and columns.
- structured data depends on the existence of a data model – a model of how data can be stored, processed, and accessed.
- common examples of structured data are SQL databases or Excel files. Each of these has structured rows and columns that can be sorted.
- data that doesn’t fit as neatly into tables, rows, and columns.
- data that does not conform to a data table or relational database structure
- data that does not conform to a data model but still has some structure
- uses tags, and keys that organize it in some sort of hierarchy.
- a typical example is data stored in JSON format.
- does not follow any schema or structure
- has an internal structure but does not contain a predetermined data model or schema.
- is information, in many different forms, that doesn’t follow conventional data models
- it could be anything: media, imaging, audio, sensor data, text data, and much more
- it can be textual or non-textual. It can be human-generated or machine-generated.
- example: BLOB – Binary Large Objects
Transactional vs Analytical Data Stores
When we talk about data, we typically talk about transactional vs analytical data stores.
- the primary function of business computing
- records transactions like financial transactions, movement of money between bank accounts, or transactions that are part of a retail system like tracking the payment of goods and services that the customer has paid for.
- think of the transaction as a small and discrete unit of work.
- designed to support business users who need to query data and get that big-picture overview of the organization.
- concerned with capturing raw data and using it to generate insights and use insights to make business decisions.
