Informatics Practices · Ch 5 — Understanding Data
Data Processing
Data Processing
Data interests us because it holds valuable facts and information that feed our decision making. But there is a hurdle: looking at a vast pile of raw data, nobody can arrive at a conclusion. The data must be processed to produce results; only after analysing those results do we draw conclusions or take decisions. Data processing is exactly this transformation — turning raw data into usable information.
Automated data processing is all around us: paying a bill online, registering a complaint, booking tickets — in each case a system accepts our inputs, works on them, and hands back a result without any manual computation.
The steps of data processing
At its simplest, processing converts raw data (numbers, text, images) into information (presented as a table, chart or text). Seen as a cycle, the work splits into three stages:
- Input — data collection, data preparation and data entry: getting the raw data into the system.
- Processing — store, retrieve, classify and update: the operations performed on the data.
- Output — reports and results delivered by the processing system.
Input flows into processing, and processing flows into output — the data process cycle.
Data-based problem statements
Three everyday systems show the input → processing → output pattern concretely:
| Problem statement | Inputs against which data are collected | Processing | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| A website handling online filling of student details for a competitive examination and generating the admit card | Student details such as name, address, qualification, marks, mobile number, photo and signature, centre choice; online fee payment details (credit/debit card, net banking or other mode of payment) | Check the filled-in details for correctness of data received; verify eligibility as per the advertisement, whether fees are paid, and whether photo and signature are uploaded; then generate a roll number and add the applicant to the list of eligible applicants | Examination admit card specifying roll number, centre address, and the date and time of the test |
| A bank handling withdrawals of cash through ATMs of its own branch | ATM PIN number, account type, account number, card number, ATM location from where money is withdrawn, date and time, and the amount to be withdrawn | Check for a valid PIN number and the existing bank balance; if satisfied, deduct the amount from that account, count the rupees and initiate printing of the receipt | Currency notes and a printed slip with the transaction details |
Figure 5.1 is drawn as two stacked grey panels that together explain what data processing is and how it unfolds in stages.
The top panel gives the big picture in a single stroke. On the left sits a rounded box labelled RAW DATA (Numbers/Text/Image); a thick right-pointing arrow labelled Data Processing leads from it to a rounded box on the right labelled INFORMATION (In the form of table/chart/text). The message is the essence of the whole section: processing is the bridge that converts raw, unusable data — whatever its form, numbers, text or images — into information presented in a form people can actually read and act on, such as a table, a chart or plain text.
The bottom panel, titled Data Process Cycle, unpacks that single arrow into three boxes connected left to right by arrows: Input → Processing → Output. Under each box the figure lists what happens at that stage. Under Input come Data Collection, Data Preparation and Data Entry — the work of gathering the raw data, readying it and feeding it into the system. Under Processing come Store, Retrieve, Classify, Update — the operations the system performs on the data it holds. Under Output come Reports, Results, Processing System — the finished products handed back to the user. …
Figure 5.2 shows three real-world tasks dissected into the same three-part anatomy — inputs, processing, output — so the reader can see that every automated system, however different its purpose, follows one pattern.
The figure is laid out as three stacked bands. Each band is headed by a full-width maroon title bar carrying the problem statement, and beneath it sit three rounded, colour-coded boxes read left to right: a pink box listing the inputs against which data are collected, a blue box describing the processing, and a green box stating the output. A legend at the bottom of the figure spells out this colour code with four coloured dots labelled Problem Statement, Inputs against which data are collected, Processing and Output.
The first band's title is "A website handling online filling of student details for a competitive examination and generating admit card." Its pink box lists the student details collected — name, address, qualification, marks, mobile number, photo and signature, centre choice, and online fee payment details such as credit/debit card, net banking or another mode of payment. The blue box describes the checks performed on the filled-in details: correctness of the data received, eligibility as per the advertisement, whether fees are paid, and whether the photo and signature are uploaded — after which a roll number is generated and the applicant joins the list of eligible applicants. The green box gives the output: an examination admit card specifying the roll number, centre address, and date and time of the test.
The second band, "A Bank handling withdrawals of cash through ATMs of its own branch," collects the ATM PIN number, account type, account number, card number, the ATM location from where money is withdrawn, the date and time, and the amount to be withdrawn. Processing checks for a valid PIN and the existing bank balance; if satisfied, the amount is deducted from the account, the rupees are counted and printing of a receipt is initiated. The output is currency notes plus a printed slip with the transaction details. …