Karl Jones: Created page with "A '''document''' is a written, drawn, presented or recorded representation of thoughts. == Description == Originating from the Latin ''Documentum'' meaning "lesson" - the ve..."

2016-04-28T17:16:42Z

Created page with "A '''document''' is a written, drawn, presented or recorded representation of thoughts. == Description == Originating from the Latin ''Documentum'' meaning "lesson" - the ve..."

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A '''document''' is a written, drawn, presented or recorded representation of thoughts.

== Description ==

Originating from the Latin ''Documentum'' meaning "lesson" - the verb ''doceō'' means "to teach", and is pronounced similarly, in the past it was usually used as a term for a written proof used as evidence.

In the computer age, a document is usually used to describe a primarily [[Text file|textual file]], along with its structure and design, such as fonts, colors and additional images.

The modern term 'document' can no longer be defined by its transmission medium (such as [[paper]]), following the existence of [[Electronic document|electronic documents]].

'Documentation' has more meanings than a written or drawn presentation of thoughts.

The formal term 'document' is defined in [[library science]] and [[information science]] and in [[documentation science]], as a basic theoretical construct.

== Scope ==

It is everything which may be preserved or represented in order to serve as evidence for some purpose.

The classical example provided by [[Suzanne Briet]] is an antelope:

<blockquote>An antelope running wild on the plains of Africa should not be considered a document, she rules. But if it were to be captured, taken to a zoo and made an object of study, it has been made into a document. It has become physical evidence being used by those who study it. Indeed, scholarly articles written about the antelope are secondary documents, since the antelope itself is the primary document.</blockquote>

(Quoted from [[Buckland]], 1998). (This view has been seen as an early expression of what now is known as [[actor–network theory]]).

== See also ==

* [[Writing]]

== External links ==

* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Document Document]

[[Category:Documents]]

Document - Revision history

Karl Jones: Created page with "A '''document''' is a written, drawn, presented or recorded representation of thoughts. == Description == Originating from the Latin ''Documentum'' meaning "lesson" - the ve..."