ABSTRACT
At the basic level, computers primarily process data, and all programs do nothing but process data. Therefore, it is of paramount importance that the programmers have a thorough understanding of data, which is the most important component in developing computer programs. This chapter gives an introduction of data in a comprehensive manner. It explains what constitutes data to begin with and then goes on to explain the basic data types: character data and numeric data. Then the special data types, like the arrays, pointers, unions, and Boolean, are explained. Then the data classes like the local data and global data are contrasted and their utility is explained. The chapter is rounded off with an explanation of how data is used inside the computer programs.
