Metadata
Level 1
Information about data rather than the data itself.
Term 7 of 7 in Data and databases
In plain language
Metadata is the label on the box: who created a document, when, in which department, for which customer. It is what lets a system filter before it searches.
Think of it like this
The date and sender on an envelope, before you open the letter.
Why it matters
Good metadata is what stops an AI assistant from quoting a policy that was replaced two years ago.
Next terms in Data and databases
- DatasetA collection of examples gathered for a model to learn from or be tested on.
- Structured and unstructured dataStructured data lives in neat rows and columns; unstructured data does not.
- EmbeddingA list of numbers that captures the meaning of a piece of text or an image.
- Vector databaseA database built to store embeddings and find the closest matches fast.