Machine-readable

Describing information or data formatted in a way that a computer system can automatically process, interpret, and extract meaningful information from without requiring human intervention or extensive pre-processing. This often involves specific file formats, coding schemes, and metadata to facilitate automated data handling. The goal is to enable efficient data retrieval, analysis, and integration across different systems. machine-readable data contrasts with human-readable formats, such as printed documents or images, which require human understanding and manual processing to extract the contained information.

Machine-readable meaning with examples

• The new government initiative mandates that all public datasets be released in machine-readable formats like CSV or JSON. This allows researchers and developers to easily access and analyze the data for public benefit. Previously, the data was only available in scanned PDF documents, severely limiting its utility and creating significant barriers for automated analysis and the construction of statistical models, hindering societal progress and transparency.
• To facilitate seamless integration with other systems, the company converted its inventory database from a proprietary format to a machine-readable XML format. This allowed for automated data synchronization and eliminates the need for error-prone manual data entry. The transformation streamlined the order fulfillment process and improved the efficiency of the supply chain, driving significant cost savings and improving customer satisfaction through faster service.
• During the election, the voting machines produce results in a machine-readable format which enables rapid processing and transmission of results to a central tallying system. The format includes unique identifiers for each ballot and candidates, timestamps and security checksums. This automated process greatly minimizes the possibility of manual data entry errors and accelerates the declaration of results.
• The library digitized its card catalog and made it available online in a machine-readable MARC format. This allows users to search for books and resources using advanced search criteria. The conversion significantly improved user experience, allowing for remote access, improved search and catalog management, allowing resources from any computer to easily be found, with no human intervention.