Daily Almanac for
Nov 10, 2009
Search White Pages
Search: Infoplease Info search tips
Search: Biographies Bio search tips
Encyclopedia

data processing

data processing or information processing,operations (e.g., handling, merging, sorting, and computing) performed upon data in accordance with strictly defined procedures, such as recording and summarizing the financial transactions of a business. In automatic or electronic data processing the operations are performed by a computer. In distributed data processing some or all of the operations are performed in different locations at computer facilities connected by telecommunications links.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

    • Cite
    • Print
    • Bookmark

More on data processing from Infoplease:

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Computers and Computing


Premium Partner Content
HighBeam Research

Related content from HighBeam Research on: data processing

Additional search results provided by HighBeam Research, LLC. © Copyright 2005. All rights reserved.