CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
1.1 Introduction

Modern civilization has become so complicated and sophisticated that to survive one has to be competitive. This compels people to keep themselves informed of all types of happening in the society. And this in turn entails the need for an infrastructure of information. This is the point where information technology or IT becomes most important, as it is the infrastructure that allows us to get information accurately and in time. Before we define information technology, it is important to understand the notion of Data, Information, Technology, and Knowledge.

In everyday conversation, people use the terms data and information interchangeably. However, some computer professional make a distinction between the two terms. Data It is the words, numbers, letters, symbol, sound, video and graphics that describe people, events, things and ideas. It is raw facts about people, objects, and events that have little or no meaning. It is the raw material used to create useful information. It becomes information when you use it as the basis for initiating some action or for making a decision.

Information
It is defined as the words, numbers, letters, symbol, sound, video and graphics used as the basis for human action or decisions. It is data that have been processed and presented in a form suitable for human interpretation, often with the purpose of revealing trends or patterns that can be used in decision-making. It is data that has been processed by using some sort of intelligence and rule to attach meaning to it

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Characteristics of information

Relevant: Information is relevant if it is needed for a practical situation. It should be correct, complete and useful. Completeness refers to that the information should provide the user with all that needs to be known about a particular situation. Sharable: It should