The information process that manipulates data by updating and editing it.
Processing alters the actual data present in the system
Processing is the only Information Process that alters the actual data present in the system.
E.g. End of a school year, students in each Year are moved up, and Year 12 data maybe archived.
Other processes may alter the way the data is represented but do not change the data itself... i.e. no data is lost and no data is changed.
As with other Information Processes, Processing often occurs as an integral part of another process. As data is collected, it is common for alterations to be made to existing data to reflect the new data. e.g. an ATM withdrawal changes account balance - calculating new balance is a processing task.
The Processing process in a computer-based system is performed by the CPU in conjunction with primary memory.
Types of Processing
Two common types of processing are Centralised and Distributed processing.
Distributed Processing can take many forms - including Parallel and Client-Server processing.
The aim here is to be able to select and justify the most suitable configuration for a given scenario.
