Data Source

A Data Source is the location where data that is being used originates from. A data source may be the initial location where data is born or where physical information is first digitized, however even the most refined data may serve as a source, as long as another process accesses and utilizes it. Concretely, a data source may be a database, a flat file, live measurements from physical devices, scraped web data, or any of the myriad static and streaming data services which abound across the internet.