Partition A segmentation technique in which data are divided into physically different
units
Passive data dictionary A repository of data where the storage of metadata may or may
not be used in the development and analytic process
Pattern analysis The analysis that seeks to find recognizable patterns in the occurrence
of points of data
PC Personal computer—a laptop/desktop device for personal computing
PDF Portable document format by Adobe
Peak period processing The time of day when the most activities are passing through
the system
Performance The measurement of system response time
Physical characteristics of data The physical dimension and configuration of a unit of
data or data structure
Physical model The physical definition of the shape and structure of data (as defined to
the DBMS)
Poisson distribution The right-hand side of a bell curve as measured from the zero axis
Populate To load data into a previously unpopulated database
Population The totality of the sets of data constituting a database or a group of entities
being analyzed
Post processing The processing that optionally can occur after text has passed through
textual ETL
Prefix space The overhead space that every occurrence of data has that allows the
system to form a structure of data
Preprocessing The editing that can precede textual processing
Primary key Unique identifying information for a unit of data
Glossary