Metadata is defined as “data/information about data.” Metadata assists us in comprehending the framework, natural order, and background of the data.
Metadata makes data searching and retrieval easier. Metadata also aids in monitoring data quality and reliability. Metadata is the element that unlocks the data’s value.
Metadata Examples
Consider an image of a Flower. A flower is just a flower to the naked eye.
A flower is much more to the more discerning “meta” eye. It is the sum of its meta.
The quantity of metadata that goes into defining an image may surprise you.
The following metadata information is stored:
- The brand of camera lenses used.
- The time when the photograph was taken
- GPS orchestrates the location’s focal length
- Color profiles for image resolution
- Image metadata provides technical information that is useful during image processing. Metadata also allows for easier search, retrieval, and backup, which increases productivity.
Use Cases For Metadata
When a document, file, or other expected in addition is modified, including deletion, metadata is created. Accurate metadata can help extend the life of existing data by assisting users in finding new applications.
Metadata organizes a data item by using terms that are associated with that object. It also allows different objects to be recognized and paired with similar objects to help optimize the use of information assets. Search engines and browsers, as previously stated, determine which website content to display by construing the metadata tags affiliated with an Html page.
Metadata is written in a language understandable by computer networks and humans, resulting in improved interconnectivity and incorporation between wildly divergent applications and data management.
Companies use metadata in content creation, engineering, financial services, healthcare, and manufacturing to gather insights on how to improve products or upgrade processes.
The Origins And History Of Metadata
The term was coined in 1969 by Jack E. Myers, creator of Metadata Knowledge Partners. In 1986, Myers registered a brand name for the unhyphenated term “metadata.” But besides this, sources to the term can be found in academic papers before Myers’ claim.
In a 1967 academic paper, Massachusetts Institute of Science and Technology faculty members David Griffel and Stuart McIntosh defined metadata as “a record… of the data records” that results from gathering bibliographic data about a topic from discrete sources. The researchers concluded that a “meta-linguistic strategy,” or “meta language,” is required for a computer system to determine whether this information and its context is related to other pertinent pieces of data.
« Back to Glossary Index