Toward a Philosophy of Data for Database Systems Design
Sabah Al‐Fedaghi · International Journal of Database Theory and Application · 2016
Data provide the inputs to systems used to understand, explain, manage, regulate, and predict the world in which we live. A basic question in studying data is, What are data? What are and are not data, and how do data become information? Exploring a conception of data is fundamentally a philosophical problem and also an important issue in the area of database design. A firm understanding of the nature of the data being modeled enhances the process of modeling reality, and it helps in establishing a mental map of the computerized domain. This paper proposes a basic definition of data as interpreted things that flow. This definition is used in building structured data (e.g., tuples, tables) that form the foundation of database systems. The notion of things that flow is a concept based on a flow-based modeling language established on machines (extension of the input-process-output model) that create, process, release, transfer, and receive these things that flow. The study uses the proposed basic definition of data to build structured data, hence, applying the definition in constructing a data-based description of particular aspects of database systems.