Editing Data processing (section)

{{Short description|Collection and manipulation of items of data to produce meaningful information}}
{{other uses}}
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'''Data processing''' is the [[data collection|collection]] and manipulation of digital data to produce meaningful information.<ref>{{cite book|last=French|first=Carl|title=Data Processing and Information Technology (10th ed.) |year=1996 |publisher=Thomson |isbn=1844801004 |page=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zVCdg7Tg6-AC&q=inauthor%3A%22Carl%20French%22&pg=PR2}}</ref> Data processing is a form of ''information processing'', which is the modification (processing) of information in any manner detectable by an observer.<ref group="note">Data processing is distinct from ''[[word processing]]'', which is manipulation of text specifically rather than data generally. {{cite web|title=data processing|url=http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/D/data_processing.html|work=Webopedia|date=September 1996|access-date=June 24, 2013}}</ref>