Informasi nyaéta hasil tina pamrosésan, pangumpulan, manipulasi sarta pangaturan data ku cara anu bisa nambahan pangaweruh nu narimana.

Informasi salaku konsép, miboga rupa-rupa harti, mimiti ti kagunaan sapopoé tepi ka wewengkon teknis. Sacara umum, konsép informasi raket pisan hubunganana jeung alpukah-alpukah ngeunaan watesan, komunikasi, kadali, data, wangun, paréntah, pangaweruh, harti, rangsangan méntal, pola, persépsi, sarta panyajian.

Balaréa ramé ngomongkeun Éra Informasi salaku kamajuan tina Éra Pangaweruh  atawa masarakat informasi, sarta tehnologi informasi. Malah informatika, élmu informasi katut élmu kompiyuter mindeng jadi perhatian, kecap "informasi" mindeng digunakeun tanpa tinimbangan nepikeun ka méngpar tina sakuduna.

Étimologi 

Numutkeun kana "Oxford English Dictionary", harti kecap 'informasi' (en:information) nu pangmimitina dina sajarah Basa Inggris, nyaéta "the act of 'informing', or giving form or shape to the mind, as in education, instruction, or training", basa Sundana, "ngalakukeun informing, atawa mikeun wangun atawa rupa pikeun pikiran, saperti nu aya dina atikan, pituduh, atawa palatihan". Kutipan ti taun 1387:  "Five books come down from heaven for information of mankind." (Lima buku turun ti sawarga salaku informasi keur umat manusa). Kecap 'informasi' ogé kungsi dipaké salaku item palatihan, contona hiji pituduh husus (dina palatihan). "Melibee had heard the great skills and reasons of Dame Prudence, and her wise information and techniques." (1386).

Kecap dina basa Inggris ieu jelas-jelas diturunkeun tina kecap pagawéan to inform ku cara nambahan rarangkén ahir "-ation" (ngaliwatan basa Perancis ti basa Latin "-tio"), dina kontéks mikeun atawa mére hiji bentuk atawa gambaran pikeun pikiran, ngadisiplinkeun, maréntah, atawa ngajarkeun: "Men so wise should go and inform their kings." (1330).  Kecap inform sorangan datang (ngaliwatan basa Perancis) tina kecap pagawéan basa Latin informare, 'méré bentuk, ngabentuk idé tina..'. Salian ti éta, dina basa Latin sorangan geus aya kecap informatio nu hartina konsép atawa idé, tapi sajauh mana mibanda pangaruh pikeun ngamekarkeun kecap information dina basa Inggris teu écés nepi ka ayeuna.

Salaku catetan ahir, kecap basa Yunani kuno pikeun 'form' (bentuk) nyaéta 'eidos', tur kecap ieu kawentar pisan pamakeánana dina wewengkon téhnis filosofis ku Plato (diteruskeun ku Aristotle atawa Aristotélés) pikeun nuduhkeun idéntitas idéal atawa eusi tina hiji hal (tingal ogé Tiori Ngeunaan Rupa-rupa Bentuk). "Eidos" bisa ogé dihubungkeun jeung pikiran, proposisi atawa malahan (dihubungkeun jeung) konsép.

Informasi salaku Warta 
Informasi téh nyaéta kaayaan hiji sistim anu keur ditoongan atawa ditalungtik (system of interest). Warta nyaéta informasi nu geus dimatérialisasi. Informasi téh nyaéta kualitas hiji warta ti saurang pangirim ka hiji atawa leuwih ti hiji panarima. Informasi aya patalina ngeunaan hiji hal (ukuran paraméter, mindengna kajadian, jsb). Ditempo ti belah dieu, informasi mah teu kudu akurat. Informasi bisa bener atawa bisa salah, jujur atawa ngan saukur sound of a kiss. Malahan mah gangguan nu geus ilahar ngahalangan jalur komunikasi jeung nyiptakeun salah paham bisa ogé diasupkeun kana salah sahiji bentuk informasi.  Sanajan kitu bisa dibilang, lamun  jumlah informasi dina warta nu ditarima nambahan, warta téh bisa disebut akurat atawa bener.

Modél ieu ngasumsikeun aya hiji pangirim nu pasti jeung sahenteuna aya hiji panarima. Loba révisi tina modél ieu ngasumsikeun ayana basa anu dipikanyaho ku pangirim sarta sahenteuna hiji tina nu narima. Aya ogé variasi modél anu nuduhkeun informasi salaku hal anu bakal dibéjakeun dina warta lamun téa mah informasi éta dikirim ti hiji pangirim ka hiji panarima nu sanggup ngartikeun warta éta. Sanajan kitu, nalika ngabutuhkeun ayana pangirim nu pasti, modél "informasi salaku hiji warta" ieu henteu mangaruhan idé yén informasi téh hiji hal anu bisa ditalungtik atawa ditempo tina lingkungan, conto nu ngaliwatan observasi, maca, atawa ngukur.

Informasi téh hiji istilah nu miboga loba harti gumantung kana kontéksna, tapi raket pisan kana sababaraha konsép sarupaning harti, pangaweruh, paréntah, komunikasi, réprésentasi, jeung rangsangan méntal. Kalawan basajan bisa disebutkeun yén informasi téh nyaéta hij warta nu ditarima jeung dipikaharti. Patali jeung data, informasi bisa didéfinisikeun salaku kumpulan fakta ti mana urang bisa nyindekkeun. Bisa jadi loba kénéh aspék lain tina informasi sabab éta téh mangrupa pangaweruh anu ayana ku jalan diajar atawa pangalaman atawa paréntah. Mung sacara umum, informasi mangrupa hasil pamrosésan, manipulasi, jeung nyusun data ku cara nu bisa nambahan pangaweruh jalma nu narimana.

Tiori komunikasi nyaéta ukuran numerik tina kateupastian hiji kajadian. Contona urang bisa nyarita yén "sinyal éta miboga informasi rébuan bit". Tiori komunikasi tends maké konsép éntropi informasi, anu dimimitian sacara umum ku C.E. Shannon (tempo di handap).

Bentuk lian tina informasi nyaéta informasi Fisher, konsép ti R.A. Fisher. Konsép ieu dipakéna dina terapan statistika pikeun tiori éstimasi jeung dina sains sacara umum. Informasi Fisher nyaéta jumlah informasi nu dibawa ku warta-warta ngeunaan paraméter nu teu bisa ditalungtik, teu bisa di baca, tapi bisa diitung ngaliwatan fungsi kasarupaan (en:likelihood function) anu ngadéfinisikeun hiji sistim. Contona, ngagunakeun fungsi kasarupaan normal, informasi Fisher nyaéta sabalikna tina (en:reciprocal of) varians fungsi kasebut. Saupama fungsi kasarupaan teu dipikanyaho, informasi Fisher bisa diitung tina data skor nu didistibusi normal salaku sabalikna tina momén kaduana.

Sanajan informasi jeung data mindeng silihganti dipaké, saéstuna duanana téh béda. Data mah mangrupa kumpulan informasi nu teu pakait, jeung euweuh gunana saacan dianalisis atawa diévaluasi kalawan bener. Ngaliwatan évaluasi, sanggeus aya hubungan anu raket di antara data-data nu aya, mangka data téh geus bisa jadi informasi. Data nu sarua ieu bisa dipaké pikeun tujuan lian. Kacindekanana, saacan data ngajadi informasi, euweuh gunana.

Ngukur éntropi informasi 

Tetempoan yén informasi téh hiji warta mimiti datang saprak dipedarna hiji makalah tulisan Claude Shannon dina taun 1948 anu gedé pangaruhna, nyaéta "A Mathematical Theory of Communication." Makalah ieu nyadiakeun pondasi tiori informasi sarta ngahargaan kecap 'informasi' lain ngan saukur ku harti téhnis tapi ogé ku ukuran nu jelas. Upamana lamun parangkat nu ngirim sacara sarua bisa ngirimkeun salah sahiji tina sakumpulan nu eusina  warta, mangka ukuran "informasi nu dihasilkeun sawaktu hiji warta dipilih tina kumpulan éta" téh nyaéta logaritma basis dua tina . (Ukuran ieu disebutna informasi-diri). Dina makalah ieu, Shannon neruskeun:

Cara komplémentér atawa cara heubeul pikeun ngukur informasi disadiakeun ku tiori informasi algoritmik. Sacara singget, tiori ieu ngukur eusi informasi tina daptar simbol-simbol dumasar kana sakumaha bisa diprédiksina maranéhanana, atawa sakumaha gampang ngadaptarkeun ngaliwatan hiji program: eusi informasi tina hiji runtuyan nyaéta jumlah bit program pangpondokna nu ngitungna. Runtuyan di handap bakal mibanda ukuran informasi algoritmik nu leutik, lantaran polana gampang dikira-kira, sarta lantaran pola ieu téh silihsambung, ukuranana moal robah. Informasi Shannon bakal méré ukuran informasi nu sarua pikeun unggal simbol, lantaran maranéhanana acak sacara statistik, sarta unggal simbol anyar bakal ngaronjatkeun hasil ngukurna.

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Penting pisan pikeun mikawanoh watesan-watesan tiori informasi tradisional jeung tiori informasi algoritmik kana persépsi 'pangarti manusa'. Contona, nalika harti tina eusi warta, Shannon nulis, "Frequently the messages have 'meaning…' these semantic aspects of communication are irrelevant to the engineering problem.  The significant aspect is that the actual message is one selected 'from a set of possible messages'".

Dina tiori informasi, sinyal-sinyal minangka bagian tina prosés, lain substansi; maranéhanana ngalakukeun hij hal sarta henteu miboga harti anu husus. Ku cara ngagabungkeun tiori informasi algoritmik jeung tiori informasi bisa dicindekkeun yén lolobana sinyal acak ngandung informasi panglobana lantaran bisa dihartikeun dina sagala cara jeung teu bisa didedetkeun (komprési). 

Michéal Reddy nulis yén "'signals' of the mathematical theory are 'patterns that can be exchanged'.  There is no message contained in the signal, the signals convey the ability to select from a set of possible messages." ('Sinyal-sinyal' dina tiori matématis nyaéta 'pola-pola nu bisa dirobah'. Euweuh warta nu aya dina sinyal, sinyal-sinyal éta bisa milih sorangan tina sakumpulan warta nu mungkin). Dina tiori informasi, "the system must be designed to operate for each possible selection, not just the one which will actually be chosen since this is unknown at the time of design".   (Sistim kudu didésain sangkan jalan dina unggal pilihan nu mungkin, lain ngan saukur hiji pilihan nu bakal dipilih, lantaran hal ieu teu dipikanyaho sawaktu tahap désain).

Information as a pattern 

Information is any represented pattern. This view assumes neither accuracy nor directly communicating parties, but instéad assumes a separation between an object and its representation.  Consider the following example: economic statistics represent an economy, however inaccurately. What are commonly referred to as data in computing, statistics, and other fields, are forms of information in this sense. The electro-magnetic patterns in a computer network and connected devices are related to something other than the pattern itself, such as text characters to be displayed and keyboard input. Signals, signs, and symbols are also in this category.  On the other hand, according to semiotics, data is symbols with certain syntax and information is data with a certain semantic.  Painting and drawing contain information to the extent that they represent something such as an assortment of objects on a table, a profile, or a landscape. In other words, when a pattern of something is transposed to a pattern of something else, the latter is information. This would be the case whether or not there was anyone to perceive it.

But if information can be defined merely as a pattern, does that méan that neither utility nor méaning are necessary components of information? Arguably a distinction must be made between raw unprocessed data and information which possesses utility, value or some quantum of méaning. On this view, information may indeed be characterized as a pattern; but this is a necessary condition, not a sufficient one.

An individual entry in a telephone book, which follows a specific pattern formed by name, address and telephone number, does not become "informative" in some sense unless and until it possesses some degree of utility, value or méaning. For example, soméone might look up a girlfriend's number, might order a take away etc. The vast majority of numbers will never be construed as "information" in any méaningful sense. The gap between data and information is only closed by a behavioral bridge whereby some value, utility or méaning is added to transform méré data or pattern into information.

When one constructs a representation of an object, one can selectively extract from the object (sampling) or use a system of signs to replace (encoding), or both. The sampling and encoding result in representation. An example of the former is a "sample" of a product; an example of the latter is "verbal description" of a product. Both contain information of the product, however inaccurate. When one interprets representation, one can predict a broader pattern from a limited number of observations (inference) or understand the relation between patterns of two different things (decoding). One example of the former is to sip a soup to know if it is spoiled; an example of the latter is examining footprints to determine the animal and its condition. In both cases, information sources are not constructed or presented by some "sender" of information. 
Regardless, information is dependent upon, but usually unrelated to and separate from, the medium or media used to express it. In other words, the position of a théoretical series of bits, or even the output once interpreted by a computer or similar device, is unimportant, except when soméone or something is present to interpret the information. Therefore, a quantity of information is totally distinct from its medium.

Information as sensory input 

Often information is viewed as a type of input to an organism or designed device. Inputs are of two kinds. Some inputs are important to the function of the organism (for example, food) or device (energy) by themselves. In his book Sensory Ecology, Dusenbery called these causal inputs. Other inputs (information) are important only because they are associated with causal inputs and can be used to predict the occurrence of a causal input at a later time (and perhaps another place). Some information is important because of association with other information but eventually there must be a connection to a causal input. In practice, information is usually carried by wéak stimuli that must be detected by specialized sensory systems and amplified by energy inputs before they can be functional to the organism or device. For example, light is often a causal input to plants but provides information to animals. The colored light reflected from a flower is too wéak to do much photosynthetic work but the visual system of the bee detects it and the bee's nervous system uses the information to guide the bee to the flower, where the bee often finds nectar or pollen, which are causal inputs, serving a nutritional function.

Information is any type of sensory input. When an organism with a nervous system receives an input, it transforms the input into an electrical signal. This is regarded information by some. The idéa of representation is still relevant, but in a slightly different manner. That is, while abstract painting does not represent anything concretely, when the viewer sees the painting, it is nevertheless transformed into electrical signals that créate a representation of the painting. Defined this way, information does not have to be related to truth, communication, or representation of an object. Entertainment in general is not intended to be informative. Music, the performing arts, amusement parks, works of fiction and so on are thus forms of information in this sense, but they are not necessarily forms of information according to some definitions given above. Consider another example: food supplies both nutrition and taste for those who éat it. If information is equated to sensory input, then nutrition is not information but taste is.

Information as an influence which leads to a transformation 

Information is any type of pattern that influences the formation or transformation of other patterns. In this sense, there is no need for a conscious mind to perceive, much less appreciate, the pattern. Consider, for example, DNA. The sequence of nucleotides is a pattern that influences the formation and development of an organism without any need for a conscious mind.  Systems theory at times seems to refer to information in this sense, assuming information does not necessarily involve any conscious mind, and patterns circulating (due to feedback) in the system can be called information. In other words, it can be said that information in this sense is something potentially perceived as representation, though not créated or presented for that purpose.

When Marshall McLuhan spéaks of media and their effects on human cultures, he refers to the structure of artifacts that in turn shape our behaviors and mindsets. Also, pheromones are often said to be "information" in this sense.

(See also Gregory Bateson.)

Information as a property in physics 

In 2003, J. D. Bekenstein claimed there is a growing trend in physics to define the physical world as being made of information itself (and thus information is defined in this way). Information has a well defined méaning in physics. Examples of this include the phenomenon of quantum entanglement where particles can interact without reference to their separation or the speed of light. Information itself cannot travel faster than light even if the information is transmitted indirectly. This could léad to the fact that all attempts at physically observing a particle with an "entangled" relationship to another are slowed down, even though the particles are not connected in any other way other than by the information they carry.

Another link is demonstrated by the Maxwell's demon thought experiment.  In this experiment, a direct relationship between information and another physical property, entropy, is demonstrated.  A consequence is that it is impossible to destroy information without incréasing the entropy of a system; in practical terms this often méans generating héat.  Thus, in the study of logic gates, the théoretical lower bound of thermal energy reléased by an AND gate is higher than for the NOT gate (because information is destroyed in an AND gate and simply converted in a NOT gate). Physical information is of particular importance in the théory of quantum computers.

Information as records 

Records are a specialized form of information. Essentially, records are information produced consciously or as by-products of business activities or transactions and retained because of their value.  Primarily their value is as evidence of the activities of the organization but they may also be retained for their informational value.  Sound records management ensures that the integrity of records is preserved for as long as they are required.

The international standard on records management, ISO 15489, defines records as "information created, received, and maintained as evidence and information by an organization or person, in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business". The International Committee on Archives (ICA) Committee on electronic records defined a record as, "a specific piece of recorded information generated, collected or received in the initiation, conduct or completion of an activity and that comprises sufficient content, context and structure to provide proof or evidence of that activity".

Records may be retained because  of their business value, as part of the corporate memory of the organization or to meet legal, fiscal or accountability requirements imposed on the organization. Willis (2005) expressed the view that sound management of business records and information delivered "…six key requirements for good corporate governance…transparency; accountability; due process; compliance; meeting statutory and common law requirements; and security of personal and corporate information."

References

Further reading 
 Bekenstein, Jacob D. (2003, August). Information in the holographic universe. Scientific American. Retrieved from http://www.referencenter.com 
 Luciano Floridi, (2005). 'Is Information Méaningful Data?', Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 70 (2), pp. 351 – 370. Available online at http://www.wolfson.ox.ac.uk/~floridi/pdf/iimd.pdf 
 Luciano Floridi, (2005). 'Semantic Conceptions of Information', The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2005 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.). Available online at http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/information-semantic/

Tempo ogé 

 Informatika
 Arsitéktur informasi
 Information broker
 Information entropy
 Information geometry
 Information highway
 Information ladder
 Information mapping
 Information overload
 Information processing
 Information processor
 Information sensitivity
 Information science
 Information system
 Information technology

 Information theory
 Infosphere
 Accuracy
 Abstraction
 Algorithmic information theory
 Classified information
 Complexity
 Complex system
 Complex adaptive system
 Cybernetics
 Exformation
 Fisher information
 Free Information Infrastructure
 Freedom of information
 Infornography

 Library and Information Science
 Medium
 Metadata
 Observation
 Philosophy of information
 Physical information
 Prediction
 Propaganda model
 Relevance
 Receiver operating characteristic
 Satisficing
 Shannon–Hartley theorem
 Claude Shannon
 Ralph Hartley
 Systems theory

Tumbu luar 

 Semantic Conceptions of Information Review by Luciano Floridi for the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
 Principia Cybernetica entry on negentropy
 Fisher Information, a New Paradigm for Science: Introduction, Uncertainty principles, Wave equations, Ideas of Escher, Kant, Plato and Wheeler.  This essay is continually revised in the light of ongoing reséarch.
 How Much Information? 2003  an attempt to estimate how much new information is créated éach yéar (study was produced by faculty and students at the School of Information Management and Systems at the University of California at Berkeley.)