# electronic data processing

> use of automated methods to process commercial data

**Wikidata**: [Q1381169](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1381169)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_data_processing)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/electronic-data-processing

## Summary
Electronic data processing (EDP) is the use of automated methods to process commercial data. It is classified as a form of information technology and is a subclass of data processing, encompassing systems and facilities used to collect, transform, store, and output business-related data.

## Key Facts
- Electronic data processing is defined as the "use of automated methods to process commercial data."  
- Instance of: information technology.  
- Subclass of: data processing.  
- Common aliases and abbreviations include: computer data processing, EDP, automatic data processing, automated data processing, ADP, EDV, EDV (Eingabe-Verarbeitung-Ausgabe), Digitale Datenverarbeitung, Procesamiento electronico de datos, Datenverarbeitung.  
- Has part: data center.  
- MeSH descriptor ID: D001330 (label: Electronic Data Processing).  
- MeSH tree code: L01.224.085 (qualifier: services computing).  
- Lexical ID: edb.  
- BabelNet ID: 00029801n.  
- Freebase ID: /m/02cgr1.  
- Wikimedia image available: Bundesarchiv_B_145_Bild-F038812-0022,_Wolfsburg,_VW_Autowerk,_EDV.jpg (point_in_time: 1973).

## FAQs
### Q: What does "electronic data processing" mean?
A: Electronic data processing means using automated (computer-based) methods to process commercial or business data. It covers systems that collect, transform, store, and produce outputs from that data.

### Q: Is electronic data processing the same as information technology (IT)?
A: Electronic data processing is classified as an instance of information technology and is a specialized subclass of the broader concept data processing. IT is the broader field that includes EDP among other activities.

### Q: What are common abbreviations and alternate names for electronic data processing?
A: Common terms include EDP, EDV, ADP, automated/automatic data processing, computer data processing, and equivalent names in other languages (e.g., Procesamiento electronico de datos).

### Q: What infrastructure is typically associated with EDP?
A: EDP explicitly includes facilities such as data centers as parts of the systems used to perform automated data processing.

## Why It Matters
Electronic data processing formalizes the use of automated, computer-based methods to handle commercial data. As a named subclass of data processing within the field of information technology, EDP captures the practical systems and components—such as data centers—used to perform routine business data tasks (collection, transformation, storage, and output). Its standardized identifiers in biomedical and library taxonomies (for example, MeSH D001330 and Dewey class 004) show that EDP is recognized across subject-domain classification systems. Knowing the terminology, aliases, and classification codes for EDP is important for information management, cataloging, interoperability, and research that involve business data workflows or the design and governance of IT services focused on commercial data processing.

## Notable For
- Being defined specifically as the automated processing of commercial data rather than a general computing activity.  
- Multiple widely used aliases and abbreviations (EDP, EDV, ADP) that appear in technical, administrative, and multilingual contexts.  
- Explicit inclusion of physical infrastructure (has_part: data center) within its scope.  
- Representation in established controlled vocabularies and identifiers (MeSH D001330, Dewey 004, Freebase /m/02cgr1, BabelNet 00029801n).  
- Classified as an instance of information technology and a subclass of data processing, linking it into broader IT taxonomies.

## Body
### Definition and scope
- Core definition: use of automated methods to process commercial data.  
- Scope includes systems and practices that collect, transform, store, and output business-related data.

### Taxonomy and relationships
- Instance of: information technology.  
- Subclass of: data processing.  
- Opposite_of: Q10573252 (as recorded in the structured properties).  
- Has part: data center (identifies physical infrastructure components associated with EDP).

### Aliases and naming
- Short names and common abbreviations:
  - EDV (qualifier: elektronische Datenverarbeitung)  
  - EDP (qualifier: electronic data processing)  
  - ADP (qualifier: automatic data processing / automated data processing)  
- Other aliases: computer data processing; automatic data processing; automated data processing; Procesamiento electronico de datos; Eingabe-Verarbeitung-Ausgabe; Digitale Datenverarbeitung; Datenverarbeitung.

### Identifiers and classification codes
- MeSH descriptor ID: D001330 (descriptor label: Electronic Data Processing).  
- MeSH tree code: L01.224.085 (services computing).  
- Dewey Decimal Classification: 004 (referenced).  
- Lexical ID: edb.  
- BabelNet ID: 00029801n.  
- Freebase ID: /m/02cgr1.  
- Library of Congress authority ID: sh85042288 (label: Electronic data processing).  
- YSO ID: 2408 (reference publication date: 2024-01-04).  
- Additional national and library identifiers recorded in the structured data (national library of Latvia ID, national library of Israel ID).

### Media and historical note
- Representative historical media: image file Bundesarchiv_B_145_Bild-F038812-0022,_Wolfsburg,_VW_Autowerk,_EDV.jpg dated point_in_time 1973 (as provided in the structured properties).

### Related topics and contexts
- Related class: information technology (development, management, and use of computer-based information systems).  
- Subject link counts and presence: Wikipedia title "Electronic data processing" with sitelink_count: 30, indicating multilingual coverage in documented sources.

### Reference metadata
- Sitelink_count recorded as 30.  
- Various structured-data references include publication and reference dates attached to identifiers (for example, YSO reference dated 2024-01-04; Dewey reference noted with 2025-11-21).

## References

1. Integrated Authority File
2. Nuovo soggettario
3. YSO-Wikidata mapping project. 2024
4. BabelNet
5. Quora
6. National Library of Israel
7. [OpenAlex](https://docs.openalex.org/download-snapshot/snapshot-data-format)
8. Wikibase TDKIV