Metadata
Data that describes other data: column names and types, when a file was created, where it came from, and how many rows it holds.
Metadata is easy to lose. Saving a table as plain text keeps the values and drops what was known about them, such as which column held dates.
See also
- Data dictionaryA document that describes each column in a dataset: its name, meaning, data type, allowed values, and units.
- SchemaThe declared structure of a dataset: its columns, their names and types, and the rules they must satisfy.
- ProvenanceWhere a value came from and what has been done to it since: the source file, the steps applied, and who or what applied them.