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1.2     ! bowersj2    1: \label{Metadata_Description}
1.1       bowersj2    2: 
                      3: \index{Metadata}\label{What Is Metadata?}\emph{Metadata} is \emph{data about data}. Metadata can often be thought
                      4: of as a label on some bit of information that can be useful to people or
                      5: computer programs trying to use the data. Without metadata, the person or
                      6: computer trying to use the original information would have to just guess
                      7: what the original data is about. For instance, if you create a problem and
                      8: neglect to say in the title or subject of the problem what it is about, then
                      9: a human who wants to use that problem would have to read the problem itself
                     10: to see what it was about, which is much more difficult than just reading
                     11: a title. A computer trying to do the same thing would just be out of luck;
                     12: it is too stupid to understand the problem statement at all.
                     13: 
                     14: One example of metadata is the <title> of a web page, which usually shows
                     15: up in the title bar of the browser. That's information about the web page
                     16: itself, not actually part of the web page. People use the title information
                     17: when they bookmark a page, so they know what the page is. Search engines
                     18: use it as a clue about the content of the web page.
                     19: