AI & Computingpreprint2026-08-18

A Primer on the Theory of Data

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Abstract

A table is a container. Rows and columns are an arrangement within that container.SQL is a language for manipulating the arrangement. Numbers and strings are rep-resentations used to store values. All are useful, but none tells us what makes a dataobject exist, what gives it meaning, or which transformations preserve that meaning.That is the territory of a theory

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View paper (DOI)Open access versionOpenAlexZenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)Published 2026-08-18

Authors: Huayin Wang

Institutions: Open Source Science Project