What is metadata?
Simply stated, metadata is data about data. Metadata normally consists of information that fully describes the creation, history, content, accuracy and usage of a data set. In terms of geographic information, metadata often contains information such as creator information and creation date, editing history, map projection and SRS, data extent, and normal map usage. Metadata is also used to describe services by providing information on the datasets they serve and the functionalities they offer.
Metadata is (briefly) data about data. I’ll try to explain this in terms someone other than Fetus can understand. This site uses “keywords” to link you, your traits, your blog, your pictures, your anything to other things that are like it. By filling out the “keywords” section after each post, anyone can search for items matching that keyword and find everything on the site relating to it.
Metadata is “information about information” and it is one of the really useful features of digital audio files. When audio went from analogue to digital, it became possible to label or encode audio files with more information than could be contained in just the file name. That identifying information is called “metadata”. Metadata can be used to name, describe, catalogue and indicate ownership or copyright for a digital audio file, and its presence makes it much easier to locate a specific audio file within a group – through use of a search engine that accesses the metadata. As different digital audio formats were developed, it was agreed that a standardized and specific location would be set aside within the digital files where this information could be stored. As a result, almost all digital audio formats, including mp3, broadcast wav and AIFF files, have similar standardized locations that can be populated with metadata.
