Primitive data Data whose existence depends on only a single occurrence of a major
subject area of the enterprise
Probability of access The mathematical statement of the likelihood that a unit of data
will be accessed
Processor The hardware at the center of the execution of a computer program
Program A procedure embodied in code
Proper text Formal text as taught by a teacher of language (as opposed to slang,
shorthand, notes, comments, etc.)
Proximity analysis An analysis based on the closeness of words or taxonomies to each
other
Public accounting firm An organization charged with commenting on the compliance of
a publicly traded corporation to accounting standards and rules
Punched cards An early form of storage that had many disadvantages
Queue time The length of time a transaction waits in the processing queue before the
transaction is processed
Query A procedure executed by a computer program in search of qualified data
Query language A computer language designed to support end user queries
Random access The ability of the system to directly access data
Random-access storage A storage technique where the time required to obtain
information is independent of the location of the information most recently obtained
Random number generator An algorithm that is capable of generating numbers in a
seemingly random sequence
Random sampling The process of selecting a subset of a large population for analysis
Record A unit of data that typically contains keys and attributes
Record locking A means of ensuring transaction integrity during update processing
Glossary