Document vs Data vs Code: What Makes the 3 Different?
Document, data, and code are three essential words in computing.
“Document” is often used interchangeably with “data”—however, the two words have subtle differences.
Moreover, “code” is commonly used purely as a technical term—but it has significant similarities with data.
This article will explain the differences and similarities between a document, data, and code.
First up, document.
What Is a Document?
A document is a page used to contain text, or graphics, or both.
For instance, consider the image below:
The paper (with the text “phone a friend”) is a document because it contains some text and a drawing.
Note: Papers are not the only type of documents.
Types of documents
Digital pages and paper pages are the two main document types for holding data.
But you may ask: “Is data not equivalent to a document?” No. Not at all! Let’s take a closer look at “data.”
What Is Data?
Data is the content of a document.
In order words, the text and graphics on a page are the document’s data.
So, while a document is a container, data is the content of that container.
Types of data
The most common types of data are graphical, audio, and textual data.
Graphical data
Graphical data are the visual contents of a page, such as diagrams, charts, videos, and images.
Audio data
Audio data are the sound-recorded contents of a page, such as WAV, MP3, and AAC.
Textual data
Textual data are the written contents of a page, such as letters (e.g., A, B, C), numbers (e.g., 1, 2, 3), symbols (e.g., $, #, +), and codes (e.g., <input>, body { background: #A18A77; }, if (condition) { //execute code }).
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But hang on a sec, if a document is a page, and data is the content of a page, what then is a code? Let’s find out below.
What Exactly Is Code?
Code is any language that computers can understand and process. In other words, code means “computer’s language.”
Types of codes
There are several code types, but the common ones are HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python.
In Summary
📄 A document is a page for holding data.
📅 Data is the content of a document.
👩💻 Code is the data that computers understand.
