what is metadata?

  Often referred to as data that describes other data, metadata is structured reference data that helps to sort and identify attributes of the information it describes. In   Zen and the Art of Metadata Maintenance , John W. Warren describes metadata as "both a universe and DNA." Meta is a prefix that -- in most information technology usages -- means "an underlying definition or description." Metadata summaries basic information about data, which can make it easier to find, use and reuse particular instances of data. For example, author, date created, date modified and file size are examples of very basic document file metadata. Having the ability to search for a particular element (or elements) of that metadata makes it much easier for someone to locate a specific document.  In addition to document files, metadata is used for: computer files images relational databases spreadsheets videos audio files web pages The use of metadata on...