Functional Programming For Dummies

Chapter 15

Dealing with Common Datasets

IN THIS CHAPTER

Considering the use of standard datasets

Accessing a standard dataset

Performing dataset tasks

The reason to have computers in the first place is to manage data. You can easily lose sight of the overriding goal of computers when faced with all the applications that don’t seem to manage anything. However, even these applications manage data. For example, a graphics application, even if it simply displays pictures from last year’s camping trip, is still managing data. When looking at a Facebook page, you see data in myriad forms transferred over an Internet connection. In fact, it would be hard to find a consumer application that doesn’t manage data, and impossible to find a business application that doesn’t manage data in some way. Consequently, data is king on the computer.

The datasets in this chapter are composed of a specific kind of data. For you to be able to perform comparisons, conduct testing, and verify results of a group of applications, each application must have access to the same standard data. Of course, more than ...