data processing

Data processing ( DP ) refers to the use of amounts of data organized with the aim to obtain information about the data quantity or to change this data.

Data are recorded in records processed according to a predefined method by humans or machines, and issued as a result. A systematic data processing is the basis for statistics, trade, technology, science and management.

• 3.1 Electron tube
• 3.2 transistor 3.2.1 RPG

• 5.1 Data processing as a legal concept within the EU
• 5.2 Data processing as a legal concept in Germany

Manual data processing

In ancient techniques for efficient management of administrative tasks were developed. Examples are the notched stick, cuneiform clay tablets and, but also the node font Quipu in Central America. The further refinement led to documents ( eg forms, questionnaires, delivery notes ) that were tabulated included in laws or operating procedures prescribed manner in card boxes or accounts, processed and stored.

Automated data processing

As the pioneer of electro-mechanical data processing shall Herman Hollerith, the "father of data processing, grandfather of IBM" of punched cards began to cope with the volume of data from Census 1890/1891 in the U.S.. The specially developed tabulating machine and punch card sorter and the hole punch cards were completed by additional machinery such as the hole card shuffler, the keypunch over time and the punch card technology further improved.

Basic operations of the machine DV

The basic operations of this technology level can be generalized to all forms of data processing. So were / forms are counted in the registration office, sorted by name in alphabetic order, add column values ​​in the form, calculates averages and comparisons of completed forms tabular statistics are drawn up.

Count

First, Hollerith machines were a tool of statistics. In the census they could capture, sort, and process, as it allowed for a purely manual counting solely for reasons of time much more features. Efficient helped to determine, for example, data by gender, race, religion and hair color, are linked and evaluated.

In addition to other counts are directed by DEHOMAG for example, the census in 1933 in Prussia, and documented in Germany in 1939.

Statistics were not only interesting for censuses. Insurance, banking, economic and statistical Empire, federal, and state agencies put a these machines.

Addition / Subtraction

By tabulating the machinery of the successor company Hollerith IBM learned in the 1920s, the addition and subtraction. This task areas opened up, such as accounting and materials management.

Multiplication / Division

Since the mid- 1930s, multiplication and division are documented, thus accounting tasks such as invoice, interest expense and payroll could automate.

In 1920, a CTR a "printing tabulator ", a printing tabulator.

Storing processing results

Results from the processing were - to be reused as input for subsequent processing events - also output on punched cards. For this purpose a keypunch, a peripheral device of the computer system used, which was triggered by output commands of the processing program.

Mixing / compare

With the punch card mixer, it was possible to mix cards from different data stacks or to separate, for purposes such subsequent processing.

Electronic data processing

Electron tube

In 1954, the IBM 604 calculating punch with a tube calculator on the German market; a " sign of the coming electronic age." Only a year later, 1955, the first programmable computer with electron tubes, the magnetic drum computer IBM was "real" 650 presented. Computers have been used until then for mathematical and technical calculations.

Transistor

According to IBM, the term Medium Data technology goes back to the introduction of satellite computer IBM 1401 on 5 October 1959. This was built in transistor technology with core memory and used as the data medium hole cards and optionally magnetic tapes. He was one of those times relatively compact system that also worked autonomously and as allowed cost accesses to the data processing.

RPG

At the same time the RPG programming language was introduced in 1959. This helped to transfer the developed by tabulating machines or punch cards mixers solutions to the new technology.

Integrated Circuits

With the advent rotating data storage, the magnetic drum was still rather used as main memory replacement, magnetic disks - floppy disks, hard, fixed AC or pure AC Drives - promoted an organization of data in files that were managed by appropriate operating systems.

DOS - " Disk Operating System " - was originally a general name of software for mainframe computers and mid-range systems in the late sixties.

Database

" The era of database systems marked the beginning of the seventies, the system family IBM/370 ".

• Through clever storage was accelerated access to a record that it no longer had to be selectively sorted repeatedly may, to subsets of the data stack incurred up to the individual record as a result of a hole in the deck.
• Techniques such indices accelerated access to individual records, database structures were responsible for the linkage of different data sources (whether address data including customer number with sales data by customer number).

The data of the hole deck were now stored in individual files or equal to tables in a file. It emerged database structures, and thus it was possible data links much faster than before to spend on one or more terminals.

Computer dialogue

In the seventies and eighties of the twentieth century it was the concept of " dialogue computer ". This type of computer has made it possible, "Information At Your Fingertips " (Bill Gates ) provide.

Information Society

Data processing as a legal concept

Data processing is a common legal concept. There, he finds primarily in the area of data protection legislation use.

Data processing as a legal concept within the EU

The legal term " data processing " is a key part of EU data protection law. He is among other things used in the Directive 95/46/EC ( Data Protection Directive) and there lit under Article 2. b legally defined. Then one understands here under " any operation performed upon or not by automatic means or any process number in connection with personal data, such as collection, recording, organization, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, the disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, blocking, erasure or destruction. "

Data processing as a legal concept in Germany

The legal term " data processing " is also used in the German legal area. It finds mention among others the Telemedia Act ( eg § 13 TMG). A legal definition contained in § 3, paragraph 4 BDSG. Then we mean by a data processing the " storage, modification, transfer, blocking and deletion of personal data ". Thus, the legal data processing concept includes five variants.

For each variant, the Federal Privacy Act contains the following definitions out: