Data processing is the arrangement of data in order to make it useful for people who need to use it. Data is processed in order to produce information. data processing can also be expressed as a means of taking raw facts and figures and process them by means of some activities to produce and organised and useful information for decision-making.
METHOD OF DATA PROCESSING
Data processing can be processed manually ,mechanically and electrically.
DATA PROCESSING CYCLE OR STAGES:
the population of data is the various stages used in order to process data so as to derive factual information. The various stages involved in data processing are:
(a) Data Collection and gathering: it is the act of traveling to the field to gather data.
(b) Data Collation: this is the processing and assembling of the data collected and validate them for inputing or use it into the system. it is at this stage that the data emotion are discovered and remedial actions taken. At this stage data are grouped into categories and kind.
(c) Data Input stage: this is the stage were collected data are entered into the computer for processing by the data entry clerk or operators. at this stage care should be taken in order not to enter wrong data which male is lead the analyst during data interpretation.
(d) Data Processing stage: the real processing of the enter data in the computer involves the manipulation and calculation of the data into the system. The processing is carried out by the computer according to the instructional commands given to the computer by the user of programmer or analyst.
A typical example of data processing is in processing of exams where are data are entered and the computer processes and assign grades to the students.
(e) Data Storage Stage: at the end of the processing the process data are stored as information in the computer storage device called the disk. it can also be stored in the floppy diskette or flash drive, zip drive or CD ROM.
(f) Output Stage: this is the stage where the computer transform the process data to it's printed form. it is at this stage damn meanings are attached to the data which is now referred to as information.
if output or process data is printed in report format designed by the programmer or analyst for easy interpretation and reading at a glance. The output is usually printed in hard copy it can be represented in graph, bar chart or histogram.
IMPORTANCE OF THE COMPUTER AS A TOOL FOR DATA PROCESSING
(1) Increased Speed: computers are often used for data processing because they are reliable and work high degree of accuracy. It produces error-free results at all times.
(2) Efficient Storage Facilities: they can store data and information on long-term or short-term period as required by the user in its memory for later use. even the smallest computer could store the academic details of all the students in a particular secondary school. Computer usually uses data or make mistake in storing and recording data. when did it is merely because they were instructed to use the data or the user made the mistake of formatting the hard drive.
(3) Fast Access to Information: computers work with high speed and much more faster than electronic machines. in data processing it works with high speed. which can perform complex arithmetic calculation and sort out over 1,000 records into alphabetical order in a couple of seconds. The speed of the computer also depend on the version. Windows computer performs at a faster rate than Pentium III and Windows 98 version when booting.
(4) Consistency: computer work with high degree of consistency without altering results. computer handles repetitive tasks without making mistakes. result of James from computer are reliable and authentic provide that it was error free during data capture.
(5) Less fatigue: computers have the ability to perform large volume of data operations without the getting bored or tired like the manual data processing.
HOW COMPUTER PROCESSES DATA
A computer can also be defined as any machine that accept some input into its memory processes it and produced some result through its output devices called printer or monitor. Data is raw facts of figure put into the computer. Note that every computer is made up of four basic segment for the work of data processing. Data flow in the movement of data with the computer system in stages in which the data flow are:
The Input units (keyboard, mouse, scanners joystick) all these are the devices in which we can put in data into the computer system. It is the beginning process of data processing.
The memory comprises of the computer ROM and RAM. this is a storage tank in which the data put in a trapped or stored for further processing.
DIAGRAM OF THE DATA PROCESSING FLOW CHART:
The central processing unit ( CPU ). Control unit and arithmetic logical unit. This the unit that does a proper calculation of the data processing.
The output unit. This is the unit that brings out the processed information.
DATA PROCESSING ILLUSTRATION USING HARDWARE
