Big Data – An Unstructured Data Pool
Big Data consists of large volumes of data that are generated daily all over the internet. In essence, it is a pool of unstructured data that must be made sense of first, to be fit for use.
This is where the importance of structuring data comes in. There are many forms of data structures, ranging from basic to advanced and complex, and their use is essential in the data structuring process.
The Basics of Data Structuring
Data structuring, in essence, has to do with a system where seemingly random, unstructured data can be taken as input and a number of operations executed on it linearly or non-linearly. These operations are meant to analyze the nature of the data and its importance in the larger scheme of things.
This extra analysis can be used to break down the data into further sub-categories or nested category trees. During the analysis, some of the data might also be found to be useless and eventually discarded.
Data Structures and their Properties
A data structure is essentially a place where data can be stored in a structured form. Right from very basic structures like arrays which are commonly used in programming languages, data structures can nowadays take complex and intricate forms, and such are the forms that are usually called upon to work with Big Data. Modern data structures are databases of different kinds that support a large array of extensive processing and operations, which really allow for easy manipulation, categorization and sorting of the data in many different ways.
Relational databases are the preferred data structure for many people as they have been in vogue for many years, have a large support base and are the backbone of many successes when it comes to data structuring. SQL databases have long been used to capture and manipulate data in a structured, useful manner. However, recently other alternatives such as NoSQL have started to emerge, making the structuring of data an even more interesting process, filled with possibilities and potential.