Programs are collections of instructions for manipulating data.
Strictly speaking, data is the plural of datum , a single piece of information. In practice, however, people use data as both the singular and plural form of the word. In database management systems , data files are the files that store the database information, whereas other files, such as index files and data dictionaries, store administrative information, known as metadata . All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of ZDNet and Mecklermedia is prohibited.