Data Access typically refers to software and activities related to storing, retrieving, or acting on data housed in a database or other repository. A datum is a statement accepted at face value (a given). Data is the plural of datum. ... A database is a collection of information stored in a computer in a systematic way, such that a computer program can consult it to answer questions. ...

Historically, different methods and languages were required for every repository, including each different database, file system, etc., and many of these repositories stored their content in different and incompatible formats. Introduction The Baconian method is the investigative method developed by Francis Bacon. ... In computing, a file system is a method for storing and organizing computer files and the data they contain to make it easy to find and access them. ... Format has several meanings; did you mean: Disk formatting — the process of preparing a disk for use File format — various ways information is encoded in computing Format — a command in the Common Lisp programming language Radio format — the musical style and programming philosophy of a radio station. ...

In more recent days, standardized languages, methods, and formats, have been created to serve as interfaces between the often proprietary, and always idiosyncratic, specific languages and methods. Such standards include SQL, ODBC, JDBC, ADO.NET, XML, XQuery, XPath, and Web Services. Wikibooks has more about this subject: SQL Headline text Hello BTEC Group! History A seminal paper, A Relational Model of Data for Large Shared Data Banks, by Dr. Edgar F. Codd, was published in June, 1970 in the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) journal, Communications of the ACM. Codds... Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is a standard software API for connecting to database management systems (DBMS). ... Java Database Connectivity, or JDBC, is an API for the Java programming language that defines how a client may access a database. ... ADO.NET is the primary data access model for Microsoft . ... The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a W3C-recommended general-purpose markup language for creating special-purpose markup languages (it is a metaformat). ... XQuery is a programming language under development by the W3C thats designed to query collections of XML data. ... XPath (XML Path Language) is a terse (non-XML) syntax for addressing portions of an XML document. ... A web service is a collection of protocols and standards used for exchanging data between applications. ...

Some of these standards enable translation of data from unstructured (such as HTML or free-text files) to structured (such as XML or SQL). The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a W3C-recommended general-purpose markup language for creating special-purpose markup languages (it is a metaformat). ... Wikibooks has more about this subject: SQL Headline text Hello BTEC Group! History A seminal paper, A Relational Model of Data for Large Shared Data Banks, by Dr. Edgar F. Codd, was published in June, 1970 in the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) journal, Communications of the ACM. Codds...