Data processing
Data processing is, broadly, "the collection and manipulation of items of data to produce meaningful information." In this sense it can be considered a subset of information processing, "the change (processing) of information in any manner detectable by an observer."
The term is often used more specifically in the context of a business or other organization to refer to the class of commercial data processing applications.
Manual data processing
Although widespread use of the term
data processing dates only from the nineteen-fifties data processing functions have been performed manually for millennia. For example
bookkeeping involves functions such as posting transactions and producing reports like the
balance sheet and the
cash flow statement. Completely manual methods were augmented by the application of
mechanical or electronic
calculators. A person whose job it was to perform calculations manually or using a calculator was called a "
computer."
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