One of the basic concepts in computer science is information. At present, there is no single definition of this concept. But on the other hand, the basic properties of information are clearly identified - reliability, completeness, relevance, usefulness, objectivity, and others. They determine the quality of information and characterize it. All the properties listed by us are purely subjective and depend on the requirements of the person to this or that information.
What is information?
Information is a rather abstract concept that does not have an exact, fixed definition. A term comes from the Latin informatio, which is translated into Russian as information or clarification.
The concept of "computer science" has many meanings that appear in context. To date, scientists have not developed a single definition for this term. So, V. Shneiderov notes that more than 400 definitions are known that function in various fields of knowledge.
The concept of computer science can be narrowed down by giving the following definitions - information or data presented in any form - oral, written, electronic, sign; the totality of data recorded on a tangible medium; stored and disseminated data.
The concept of information is operated by various sciences, such as information theory, cybernetics, semiotics, mass communication theory, computer science, economics. Each of them chooses the exact wording that most accurately describes the use of information in this field of knowledge.
Next, we will consider not only the types of information and operations on it, but also its main qualitative characteristics. Very detailed will be considered the properties of information, completeness. Examples for each of the characteristics will be very simple and understandable, which will help to understand the essence of each of them.
Types of information
Depending on the criteria, information can be classified according to the method of perception, area of occurrence and presentation, purpose.
Depending on the method of perception, visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory and taste information is distinguished.
By area of origin - elementary, biological and social.
According to the form of presentation and fixation - textual, numerical, graphic, sound, machine.
By destination - mass, special, personal, social, statistical.
This is not a complete list of classifications, in fact, there are much more. We have given only the basic ones.
Information Operations
Various information can be performed on information, regardless of its type. Consider the main ones:
- The collection or accumulation of information in order to ensure its completeness, reliability and relevance.
- Filtering - filtering out excess information. For example, the reliability and completeness of information is one of its main properties. If the information received does not correspond to them, it can be considered superfluous and destroyed.
- Information protection - prevention of loss, modification, unauthorized use of the received data.
- Transformation - change the way data is presented. For example, the text is presented in the form of a table or diagram, voiced.
The main properties of information
Like any other object, information has its own characteristics and properties. So, the main properties are reliability, adequacy, objectivity, accessibility, accuracy, completeness of information. They indicate the quality of the data obtained, the degree of their compliance with the needs of a particular group of people.
Next, we will analyze each of them in more detail and provide accessible and understandable examples.
Objectivity
The objectivity of information is the independence of data from one's opinion or consciousness, methods of obtaining. The more objective it is, the more reliable.
For example, graphic information captured using a photograph is more objective than that drawn by the artist. Or refine the weather on the street. So, the information that the street is warm is subjective, but the information that the thermometer shows 24 degrees of heat is already objective.
This property is affected by the fact whether the data is passed through the subjective perception of a person or not, whether these were facts or assumptions.
Completeness
The completeness of information is an indicator that indicates a measure of the sufficiency of the data obtained to solve a particular problem. It is very relative, as it is assessed by how much this information can help in solving a particular problem. If there is enough information to make the right decision - it is complete. If not, then its use will not bring the expected effect.
The more complete the data, the more available to a person methods to solve the problem, the faster he will be able to choose the right one and solve his problem. Incomplete information can lead to erroneous decisions and conclusions.
Consider in what situation completeness of information may be important. Examples may be as follows. They showed the weather forecast on TV, but they only said that the temperature in the street during the day will be +25. At the same time, the announcer did not say whether it would be sunny or overcast, whether it would rain. Such information is false. On its basis, the viewer may decide not to take an umbrella with him and eventually fall into the rain.
Second example: students were told that there would be an exam on Tuesday, but the subject was not named. Such data is also insufficient to solve the problem.
In order to complete the information, it is necessary to collect as much data as possible and, filtering them, to obtain the most complete information that can be used to solve the problems.
Credibility
Reliability of information - its fidelity, correspondence to reality, facts.
Reliable information is based on facts, objective information. The completeness and reliability of the information are interconnected, since incomplete information may be unreliable. For example, with the suppression of some facts the information does not correspond to reality. This is due to the reliability criteria:
- lack of distorted, false and incomplete data.
- speech intelligibility (fixation method).
The reasons for the inaccuracy of information, which can be distinguished as the most frequently encountered: distortion, both intentional (initially misinterpretation, distortion due to interference), and intentional - misinformation, errors in fixing data, withholding of important details.
Relevance
The relevance of information - the degree of compliance of the received information with the given time, timely received information.
For example, let's take the same weather forecast. For tomorrow or next week it will be relevant for us, as it will help you choose the right clothes, perhaps adjust your plans. At the same time, the forecast of yesterday or a week ago is irrelevant for us, since it does not bear any value, since this information was received late, does not correspond to the time of interest to us.
But it should be remembered that, depending on the goals, information irrelevant for some people may be relevant for others. So, when solving a crime in some situations, the weather on the day of the theft or murder can be of key importance.
Thus, the properties of information - completeness, relevance and reliability - are important in solving the problem.
Novelty
Information should bring something new to the understanding of an entity or object. It is believed that by it is meant only those data that can benefit a person, give information about something new.
In general, not all scientists recognize this property as mandatory for information. Information acquires the property of novelty if it is data on any new research, phenomena, events that have occurred in the world. For example, information on election results is novel, but only for a short period of time.
Utility
The usefulness or value of information is evaluated in relation to the needs of one or another of its consumers, tasks that can be solved with its help. Useful information is the most valuable.
For example, for people with allergies valuable data on the composition of a product. For a broker or banker, the state of the economy at a given time. Reliability, relevance, completeness of information is the key to its usefulness, a guarantee that with its help a person can solve the task assigned to him as quickly as possible.
Adequate
Adequacy - the correspondence of information to the expected content, the correspondence to the displayed object or phenomenon. In general, adequacy is a concept similar to the objectivity of information and its reliability.
The following example of the adequacy of information can be given. When asked what color the leaves are, a person answers - green. If the answer is blue, black, leaves are round, etc., then the information received cannot be considered adequate. Thus, the adequacy of information is its correct, reliable answer to the question posed.
Availability
Accessibility - the ability to receive this or that information, perform a number of operations on it, which include reading it, changing and copying it, and using it to solve problems and obtain new data.
The main examples of the availability of information when its content is complete are scientific monographs, studies, data presented in books, and information on the state of the environment.
To some extent, one can talk about the accessibility of political and economic information for society as a whole, but talking about its completeness is far from always reasonable.
Another striking example of the availability of information can be a book written in a person’s native language. But if it is printed in a foreign language unknown to a person, then the accessibility of the information contained in it can no longer be said.
conclusions
There is still no single definition for the term information. Each field of knowledge, each scientist develops its own concept for a given term. Generally speaking, information is any information that has a number of certain properties.
And the completeness of information is one of its main properties. Along with it also highlight relevance, reliability, accessibility, objectivity, usefulness. These properties are very subjective, in some cases even conditional.