<
data> /me't*-day't*/, or combinations of /may'-/ or
(Commonwealth) /mee'-/; /-dah't*/ (Or "meta data") Data about
data. In
data processing, meta-data is definitional data
that provides information about or documentation of other data
managed within an application or environment.
For example, meta-data would document data about {data
elements} or
attributes, (name, size, data type, etc) and
data about
records or
data structures (length, fields,
columns, etc) and data about data (where it is located, how it
is associated, ownership, etc.). Meta-data may include
descriptive information about the context, quality and
condition, or characteristics of the data.
Not to be confused with
Metadata.
(1997-04-06)