A data pack (or fact pack) is a pre-made

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases s ...

that can be fed to a software, such as

software agent In computer science, a software agent or software AI is a computer program that acts for a user or other program in a relationship of agency, which derives from the Latin ''agere'' (to do): an agreement to act on one's behalf. Such "action on beha ...

s, game,

Internet bot An Internet bot, web robot, robot or simply bot, is a software application that runs automated tasks (scripts) over the Internet, usually with the intent to imitate human activity on the Internet, such as messaging, on a large scale. An Internet b ...

s or

chatterbot A chatbot or chatterbot is a software application used to conduct an on-line chat conversation via text or text-to-speech, in lieu of providing direct contact with a live human agent. Designed to convincingly simulate the way a human would behav ...

s, to teach information and facts, which it can later look up. In other words, a data pack can be used to feed minor updates into a system.

Introduction

Common data packs may include abbreviations,

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

s, dictionaries, lexicons and technical data, such as

country code Country codes are short alphabetic or numeric geographical codes (geocodes) developed to represent countries and dependent areas, for use in data processing and communications. Several different systems have been developed to do this. The term ...

s, RFCs,

filename extensions A filename extension, file name extension or file extension is a suffix to the name of a computer file (e.g., .txt, .docx, .md). The extension indicates a characteristic of the file contents or its intended use. A filename extension is typically ...

TCP and UDP port numbers This is a list of TCP and UDP port numbers used by protocols for operation of network applications. The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) only need one port for duplex, bidirectional traffic. They usually u ...

country calling codes Country calling codes or country dial-in codes are telephone number prefixes for reaching telephone subscribers in the networks of the member countries or regions of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The codes are defined by the ...

, and so on. Data packs may come in formats of CSV and SQL that can easily be parsed or imported into a database management system. The database may consist of a key-value pair, like an

association list In computer programming and particularly in Lisp, an association list, often referred to as an alist, is a linked list in which each list element (or node) comprises a key and a value. The association list is said to ''associate'' the value with ...

. Data packs are commonly used within the

video game industry The video game industry encompasses the development, marketing, and monetization of video games. The industry encompasses dozens of job disciplines and thousands of jobs worldwide. The video game industry has grown from niches to mainstrea ...

to provide minor updates within their games. When a user

download In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote ...

s an update for a game they will be downloading loads of data packs which will contain updates for the game such as minor bug fixes or additional content. An example of a data pack used to update a game can be found on the references.

Example

SELECT capital FROM countries WHERE country='Sweden'

Data pack

A data pack DataPack Definition is similar to a

data packet In telecommunications and computer networking, a network packet is a formatted unit of data carried by a packet-switched network. A packet consists of control information and user data; the latter is also known as the '' payload''. Control inform ...

it contains loads of information (data) and stores it within a pack where the data can be compressed to reduce its file size. Only certain programs can read a data pack therefore when the data is packed it is vital to know whether the receiving program is able to unpack the data. An example of data packs which are able to effective deliver information can be found on the reference page.

Mobile data packs

When you refer to the word data pack it can come in many forms such as a mobile data pack. A mobile data pack refers to an add-on which can enable you to boost the amount of data which you can use on your mobile phone. The rate at which you use your data can also be monitored, so you know how much data you have left. Mobile data is a service which provides a similar service to

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wav ...

and allows you to connect to the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

. So the purpose of a data pack is to increase the amount of data that your mobile has access to. An example of a mobile data pack can be found on the references.

External links

DarkBot @ SourceForge

A directory of fact packs

References