Devaluing my qualifications

Dec 26, 2007 20:29

Today I found a few AS level computing practice papers. Highlights include ( Read more... )

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Comments 16

figg December 26 2007, 23:37:49 UTC
Q: What is the difference between data and information?

:(

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addict_yin December 27 2007, 02:27:43 UTC
It makes my head hurt mightily. And what about that data bus thing?

If I get my degree, I'm tempted to invest in an A-level examination and just see how well I can do with the next qualification up under my belt. I bet not knowing all their arbitary definitions would mean I'd get a B or a C.

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nevalicori December 27 2007, 11:36:40 UTC
A clock signal, maybe, though that should be on the control bus.

Or something as dumb-ass as “electricity”?

If the data bus is just D₀…D₁₅, I can't see what beyond data it could possibly carry in the general sense.

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shano_d December 27 2007, 23:38:15 UTC
If you assume a split code/data architecture (not uncommon in earlier mainframes, and the remnants of it are still in x86 real mode), then code is probably carried on the data bus as well. Most modern architectures don't distinguish between the two, though.

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anonymous December 26 2007, 23:41:45 UTC
my recollection is that information is the ... knowledge... that you extracted from data. the trick of having a load of data files and extracting something informative from them. but it probably is an arbitrary choice of definition ...

mair

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addict_yin December 27 2007, 02:19:36 UTC
That's what I decided it must have been in the end. Roughly speaking, I'd say data implies something useful for processing, and possibly a large amount of it. Information somehow feels like something smaller and less useful en masse, like directions to the post office.

That said, it's an entirely arbitary distinction with blurry edges, of no use whatsoever in a technical sense - I can't think of any context where you'd ever need to draw the distinction.

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