5. Syntax - converting Data into Information

When data is stored on a computer, then some rules need to be applied to extract the correct information.

Consider a data set that include dates, what does the date: 01/02/04 represent?

If the date is constructed using British rules, then it means the 1st of February 2004, however if American date rules are used, then the first number is the month and the second is the day and so this means the date is the 2nd of January 2004!

Syntax is the set of rules that need to be applied to the data in order to extract the correct information.

In this case the British syntax rule dd/mm/yy could be applied to get the correct date information.

Another example:

There is a set of data containing some long numbers:

01926614225 and they are known to be UK telephone numbers. The syntax rule for UK telephone numbers can be applied to extract the information:

(xxxxx)-xxxxxx  where () is the area code and the rest is the local telephone number.