machine-readable data

noun
UK /məˈʃiːn ˈriːdəbl ˈdeɪtə/
US /məˈʃiːn ˈriːdəbl ˈdeɪtə/

Data is machine-readable when a computer can read and understand it easily.

The weather report is stored as machine-readable data so the app can show the forecast.

SYNONYMS

computer-readable datastructured datadigital dataencoded data

RELATED WORDS

file formatparsingdatabasemetadataencoding

OTHER MEANINGS

2. Information stored in a format that software can process without human help.

The library turned its paper records into machine-readable data.

3. Text or numbers arranged so that programs can search and sort them automatically.

Machine-readable data lets the search engine find results in a second.

4. A digital form of information, such as JSON or CSV, used by computers.

The team saved the survey answers as machine-readable data in a CSV file.