How Does Data, Computers and Programming Work?

So—what is data, again?

We have already answered this in the first chapter, but here we look at it from a different perspective.

Earlier in the course, we established that digitalisation leads to a digital transformation—blurring the division between the old analogue world and the new, digital one.

If we want to understand the forces that drive this shift, we need to understand what is actually going on in the digital devices we use.

Compared to analogue data—i.e., things like physical archives, cassette tapes, and film reels—digital data offers completely different possibilities. Digital data can be transferred, copied, modified, compiled, and worked with in entirely different and new ways.

To understand how and why this happens, we must first understand what digital data specifically are and what can be done with them.

Simply put, we will go more “nerdily” about it.