Metadata

Metadata is used to facilitate the understanding, characteristics, use, and management of data based on the type of data and the context of its use.

Some examples:

A) In a library database, metadata about a book would likely include the author, title, genre, a description of the content, the publication date, and the physical location of the book within the library.

B) For images created by a camera, metadata might include the date and time the photograph was taken, as well as the various camera settings, file size, and file type;

C) In a music file on a portable digital music player, metadata could include the album name, artist, song title, track number, album art, file size, and track duration;

D) In files on a computer or server, the filename would have metadata that might include the file type, creation date, modification date, version, and the contents or subject of the information in that file.

Metadata allows users to organize and sort data in a variety of ways that are enormously helpful in locating a specific item, creating reports, or data analysis. For these purposes, metadata should follow an established naming convention. Some critics note that without automatic processes, metadata is complicated, expensive to create and maintain, and can be very subjective and context-dependent. That said, if designed and managed well, metadata is a tremendously useful and dynamic tool for organizing and understanding complex and/or large amounts of data.