An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

Data that can take any value along a continuum (e.g. air temperature between two upper and lower boundaries) as opposed to → discrete data, which can only take integer values.

→ continuous; → data.

Items of information.

L. data, plural of → datum.

Dâdehâ, plural of dâdé, → datum.

In the → software architecture, the code that deals with reading from or writing to the data store, hiding its nature and complexity.

→ data; → access; → layer.

The process of controlling telescope operations during observation and obtaining data.

→ data; acquisition, from L. acquisitionem, from acquirere "get in addition," from → ad- "extra" + quærere "to search for, obtain."

Alfanješ, verbal noun of alfanjidan (variant alfaqdan) "to acquire, get," Bactrian αλφανζ "to acquire," Sogdian δβ'yz "to acquire, gain, get" (Cheung 2007); → data.

The evaluation of reduced data; → data reduction.

→ data; → analysis.

Any extensive record or collection of data, observational (usually obtained with a particular instrument) or theoretical (grid of models usually regarding a particular branch of astrophysics).

→ data; → archive.

A set of data related to a given subject and organized in such a way that it can be consulted by users.

→ data; bank, from M.Fr. banque, from O.It. banca "table," because of "the moneylender's exchange table," from P.Gmc. *bankiz (O.H.G. bank "bench").

Bânk, from Fr. banque, see above; dâdehâ, plural of dâdé→ datum.

The process of digging through large quantities of raw data stored in → databases to uncover new characteristics, patterns, and correlations using various automatic or semi-automatic statistical/mathematical means.

→ data; mining, from mine, M.E., from O.Fr. mine, probably from a Celtic source.

Kânkâvi, literally "digging mine," from kân "mine," related to kandan "to dig" (Mid.Pers. kan, qn; O.Pers. ka(n) "to dig;" Av. kan- "to dig;" cf. Skt. khan- "to dig") + kâvi from kâvidan/kâftan "to split; to dig" (Mid.Pers. kandan "to dig;" cf. Gk. skaptein "to dig;" L. scabere "to scratch, rub").

An abstract entity that describes the structure of → database by including the formal description of the information system used in the database.

→ data; → model.

Unit of the analog-to-digital conversion system of a CCD apparatus. For example a 16 bit system may use a maximum of 65536 DN. The acronym ADU, for analog-to-digital unit, is also used.

→ data; → number.

Systematic operations on data, such as handling, merging, sorting, and computing.

→ data; → processing.

A machine for handling data in → data processing.

→ data; → processor.

The process of converting crude observational data into usable information for scientific interpretation, by correcting, rearranging, ordering, and simplifying.

→ data; → reduction.

A → method or → format for organizing and storing data. Any data structure is designed to organize data to suit a specific purpose so that it can be accessed and worked with in appropriate ways. In computer programming, a data structure may be selected or designed to store data for the purpose of working on it with various algorithms.

→ data; → structure.

A combined and coordinated set of data that supplies information for a specific purpose in a variety of forms.

→ data; → base.

Data that can only take a small set of particular values, usually whole numbers. For instance, number of children in a family cannot be 2.4, since parents cannot actually have 2.4 children. → continuous data.

→ discrete; → data.

A composition of different databases which work in an integrated manner while preserving their autonomy.

→ federate; → database; → system.

Specifically defined data elements that describe how and when a particular set of data was collected, and how it is formatted. Metadata is used to organize, manipulate, and work with data when it is not necessary or desired to actually deal with the data itself. The reason is that the metadata is usually far smaller and easier to work with than the data that it represents.

→ meta-; → data.

Data that are unprocessed or not yet subjected to analysis.

Raw, from M.E., from O.E. hreaw "uncooked, raw;" cf. M.Du. rau, O.H.G. hrawer, Ger. roh; PIE base *krowos "congealed, bloody" cf. Skt. kravis- "raw flesh," krura- "bloody, raw, hard;" Gk. kreas "flesh;" L. crudus "not cooked," cruor "thick blood;" Lith. kraujas, O.C.S. kruvi "blood;" → data.

Dâdehâ→ data; xâm "crude, uncooked;" Mid.Pers. xâm "crude, raw" (Khotanese hāma- "raw;" Ossetic xom "raw;" Pash. ôm "raw"); cf. Skt āmá- "raw, uncooked;" Gk. omos "raw, uncooked."

A type of data structure in which data are represented as tables in which no entry contains more than one value.

→ relational; → data; → structure.