At the lowest level, all information processed by a computer is represented by units of bits or binary switches. It is the algorithm provided which interpretes the meaning of the bits set.

Data information can be classified in a number of way, two of these classifications are values and labels.

Values provide a representation of the information to be processed by some algorithm for the purpose of arriving at a solution. These values are processed as numeric values.

In the early days of computing, these values were stored in decimal units. Decimal values allowed human operators an easier time to observe and check the inforomation being processed. However, decimal is not 'native' to binary computational systems and required the system to additional work.

Moderns systems commonly convert input data information into binary formats which allows for more efficient processing. The data is then converted back when needed for human consumption.

Labels provide a way to label the values being processed, thus allowing the processing algorithms to be much more flexible. Although labels are number values themselves, calculations, other than comparisons, are seldom applied to them.

Labels may be variable names, icons on the computer's desktop, filenames, etc.