Metadata (computing)

Metadata is like a librarian who helps you find a book in a library. When you go to a library, you can see a lot of books there. It's difficult to find the book you want to read if there's no librarian. But, the librarian knows what each book is about, who wrote it, what kind of story it is, and more. This is like metadata - it's information that helps you understand what a file or a document is about.

Metadata is information that is stored along with a file, such as audio, video, or images, that describes the content of the file. It can tell you when it was created, who created it, what type of file it is, the size of the file, and more. This information can be used by software applications to organize and display files in a more efficient way.

For example, imagine you're looking for a picture of a cat on your computer. You can search for the file name, but if the file name doesn't contain the word "cat," you might not find what you're looking for. However, if the metadata includes keywords like "feline," "tabby," or "pet," your search becomes more accurate, and it becomes easier for you to find what you're looking for.

Overall, metadata is important because it helps people and software programs find, organize, and classify files. It's like a set of clues that help you understand and locate what you're looking for, just like a librarian helps you find the right book in a library.