Data and Physics - an Its Implications Unorthodox View of Data in Data Processors R. R. Korfhage, W. H. Southern E. Day, L. L. Beck, Methodist University Dallas, Texas W. F. Appelbe Introduction. From prehistoric days, mankind has been involved with technology - 'I... the utilization of energy and materials in controlled situations to modify and organize man's physical and social environment."1 Initially, emphasis was placed on the mastery of materials. Gradually the emphasis shifted toward the mastery of energy, which has played a dominant role in the technology of the early twentieth century. Now, as computers and communication systems come of the emphasis is shifting once again - to the age, mastery of information. Computers, once regarded as "number crunchers," are Past more properly viewed as information processors. years have seen fundamental advances in information processing - the theoretical work of Salton, SparckJones, and others on the nature of information processing, the development of database concepts, and work on hardware specifically oriented toward inforThese advances have mation storage and retrieval. laid solid ground for the advancement of information processing. It is an appropriate time to step back and examine the foundations of our field - to determine
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