Classification

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What Does Classification Mean?

Classification is the process of identifying and and grouping objects or ideas into predetermined categories. In data management, classification enables the separation and sorting of data according to set requirements for various business or personal objectives.

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In machine learning (ML), classification is used in predictive modeling to assign input data with a class label. For example, an email security program tasked with identifying spam might use natural language processing (NLP) to classify emails as being “spam” or “not spam.”

Techopedia Explains Classification

Data classification is a diverse process that involves various methods and criteria for sorting data within a database or repository. This is generally done through a database or business intelligence software that provides the ability to scan, identify and separate data. Some examples and applications of data classification include:

  • Separating customer data based on gender
  • Identifying and keeping frequently used data in disk/memory cache
  • Data sorting based on content/file type, size and time of data
  • Sorting for security reasons by classifying data into restricted, public or private data types
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Margaret Rouse
Technology expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology expert

Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret’s idea of ​​a fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.