DATA PROCESSING

Data : Data means any collection of raw hand figures facts. Data can be considered as the raw material of information. The data may be numerical such as payroll, employee Number, etc. or non-numerical like Student names, Product names, etc. Data Processing : As data is in its raw form it cannot solve any problem. The data needs some processing to make it useful. Data processing is the conversion of data into a more useful form. That is, transmission of data into meaningful information is called data processing. Information : The result obtained by data processing is called information. That is, the processed data is known as information. However, information produced in one data processing step may be used as data in the next data processing step. DATA Vs INFORMATION Data Raw records Unordered Unrefined Data Information Completed One Ordered Refined Data

KINDS OF DATA PROCESSING 1. Manual Data Processing: Data is processed without the help of mechanical devices. Here the data is processed using manual things such as abacus, slide rule, Napier bones etc. 2. Mechanical Data Processing: In Mechanical Data Processing, mechanical devices like calculators, tabulators, etc, are used for processing. 3. Electronic Data Processing: In Electronic Data Processing, the data is processed by either analog or digital computer.

STEPS IN DATA PROCESSING 1. Identifying the data 2. Input of Data. 3. Manipulation of Data. 4. Output of Information. 5. Storage of Information

1. Identifying the data Accuracy of information depends on accurate data input. The first step in data processing therefore, is to locate necessary facts and figures from source documents. Accurate, relevant and adequate data must be used as input. 2. Input of data:

After extracting the necessary data from the source documents, they must be transposed in a suitable form acceptable to the computer. Great care should be taken to avoid wrong entries in the forms. 3. Manipulation of data: It involves the process of shifting, sorting and rearranging the given input. Before processing, validation procedures may be built in to the code to so that input forms do not accept any incorrect data. 4. Output of information: The main purpose of data processing is to provide meaningful information to the decision-maker. Hence, in data processing the person involved must be very careful about what information is needed and in what form he likes to have it. 5. Storage of information: The data processed need to be kept for future use. All the processed data will need some form of secondary storage. When storing the data, it is always important to maintain a backup. It should be noted that at each and every step the storage might be done.

DATA PROCESSING OPERATIONS 1. Data Generation : It involves the operation of collecting the original data. It implies that the raw data are collected and set out in the form of original document called a source document. 2. Recording : Here raw data is converted into an acceptable form. That is, the data is transcribed from the source documents on the cards or on some other specified forms and are made readable for the machines. This operation is performed throughout the IPO cycle. The punched cards and paper tapes, magnetic tapes, a magnetic disks, tape cassettes, floppy disks, magnetic drums, tape cassettes, floppy disks, RAM cartridge, charged coupled devices, etc., are used as data recording media. 3. Verification : After the data have been recorded, their accuracy has to be checked. This can be done with the help of another machine called verifier or by re-reading. 4. Classification : Classification of information is the next important operation in which the data is separated into various categories. 5. Sorting : Sorting involves sequencing the data in a pre-determined order to facilitate processing. The order may be either alphabetic or numeric. 6. Merging : It is the operation of combining two or more ordered (sorted) sets of data to form another single ordered set. 7. Calculating : Here calculation of greater magnitude can be processed. Calculation involves solving equations and manipulation of the source data such as addition, subtraction, etc. 8. Data Storage : The results of processing one set of data are retained in storage for future use of reference. The basic requirement for utilizing the computer in all business applications is the ability to store and access data. The data is stored in a location called memory referred by its address. In large organizations, huge volume of data is to be stored and accessed. Hence, some auxiliary storage devices are also needed for the effective data processing.

9. Data Retrieving : Data retrieving is the process of searching or locating a data item from the storage. In EDP system, the data is retrieved from the storage device in sequential, indexed sequential or random access mode. The on-line data storage and retrieval is very useful for the proper functioning of a modern business establishment. 10. Reporting : Generally in business data processing, the processing operation comes to an end with the reporting of data. In this operation the results of the data processing are made available to others. The processed information may be reported in a number of ways depending on the use of results. The results may be printed out in the form of pay slips, bills, etc. or in the form of reports as ESI Reports, PF Reports or Sales Reports, etc.,

Record: Group of related fields File: Group of records of same type Database: Group of related files Entity: Person, place, thing, event about which information is maintained Attribute: Description of a particular entity Key field: Identifier field used to retrieve, update, sort a record

Problems with the Traditional File Environment Data redundancy Program-Data dependence Lack of flexibility Poor security Lack of data-sharing and availability

Database Management System (DBMS) Creates and maintains databases Eliminates requirement for data definition statements Acts as interface between application programs and physical data files Separates logical and design views of data

Hierarchical DBMS Organizes data in a tree-like structure Supports one-to-many parent-child relationships Prevalent in large legacy systems

Disadvantages Outdated Less flexible compared to RDBMS Lack support for ad-hoc and English language-like queries

 Management Requirements for Database Systems

Q

Data warehouse Supports reporting and query tools Stores current and historical data Consolidates data for management analysis and decision making

Data mart Subset of data warehouse Contains summarized or highly focused portion of data for a specified function or group of users

Datamining Tools for analyzing large pools of data Find hidden patterns and infer rules to predict trends