A datasheet, data sheet, or spec sheet is a

document A document is a writing, written, drawing, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of nonfiction, non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ', which denotes ...

that summarizes the performance and other characteristics of a product, machine, component (e.g., an

electronic component An electronic component is any basic discrete electronic device or physical entity part of an electronic system used to affect electrons or their associated fields. Electronic components are mostly industrial products, available in a singula ...

), material, subsystem (e.g., a

power supply A power supply is an electrical device that supplies electric power to an electrical load. The main purpose of a power supply is to convert electric current from a source to the correct voltage, electric current, current, and frequency to power ...

), or

software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

in sufficient detail that allows a buyer to understand what the product is and a design engineer to understand the role of the component in the overall system. Typically, a datasheet is created by the manufacturer and begins with an introductory page describing the rest of the document, followed by listings of specific characteristics, with further information on the connectivity of the devices. In cases where there is relevant

source code In computing, source code, or simply code or source, is a plain text computer program written in a programming language. A programmer writes the human readable source code to control the behavior of a computer. Since a computer, at base, only ...

to include, it is usually attached near the end of the document or separated into another file. Datasheets are created, stored, and distributed via product information management or product data management systems. Depending on the specific purpose, a datasheet may offer an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

value, a typical value, a typical range, engineering tolerances, or a nominal value. The type and source of data are usually stated on the datasheet. A datasheet is usually used for commercial or

technical communication Technical communication (or tech comm) is communication of technical subject matter such as engineering, science, or technology content. The largest part of it tends to be technical writing, though importantly it often requires aspects of visual ...

to describe the characteristics of an item or product. It can be published by the manufacturer to help people choose products or to help use the products. By contrast, a technical

specification A specification often refers to a set of documented requirements to be satisfied by a material, design, product, or service. A specification is often a type of technical standard. There are different types of technical or engineering specificati ...

is an explicit set of requirements to be satisfied by a material, product, or service. The ideal datasheet specifies characteristics in a formal structure, according to a strict taxonomy, that allows the information to be processed by a machine. Such machine readable descriptions can facilitate information retrieval, display, design, testing, interfacing, verification, system discovery, and e-commerce. Examples include Open Icecat data-sheets, transducer electronic data sheets for describing sensor characteristics, and electronic device descriptions in CANopen or descriptions in markup languages, such as SensorML.

Product datasheet information

A product data sheet (PDS), like any datasheet, has a different data model per category. It typically contains: * Identifiers like manufacturer and manufacturer product code, GTIN * Classification data, such as UNSPSC * Descriptions such as marketing texts * Specifications * Product images * Feature logos * Reasons-to-buy * Leaflets, typically as PDFs * Manuals, typically in PDF. * Product videos, 3D objects, and other rich media assets In Open Icecat, the global open catalog or

open content Free content, libre content, libre information, or free information is any kind of creative work, such as a work of art, a book, a software, software program, or any other creative Media (communication), content for which there are very minimal ...

project in which hundreds of manufacturers and thousands of e-commerce sellers participate, the data models of tens of thousands of taxonomy classes are defined, and millions of free PDSs can be found conforming these data-sheet data models.

Material safety data sheets

A material safety data sheet (MSDS), safety data sheet (SDS), or product safety data sheet (PSDS) is an important component of product stewardship and occupational safety and health. These are required by agencies such as OSHA in its Hazard Communication Standard, 29 C.F.R. 1910.1200. It provides workers with ways to allow them to work in a safe manner and gives them physical data (melting point, boiling point, flash point, etc.), toxicity, health effects, first aid, reactivity, storage, disposal, protective equipment, and spill-handling procedures. The MSDSs differ from country to country, as different countries have different regulations. In some jurisdictions, it is compulsory for the SDS to state the chemical's risks, safety, and effect on the environment. The SDSs are a commonly used classification for logging information on chemicals, chemical compounds, and chemical mixtures. The SDSs often include the safe use of the chemical and the hazardous nature of the chemical. Anytime chemicals are used these datasheets will be found. There is a need to have an internationally recognized symbol when describing hazardous substances. Labels can include hazard symbols such as the European Union standard black diagonal cross on an orange background, used to denote a harmful substance. The purpose of an SDS is not so that the general public will have a knowledge of how to read and understand it, but more so that it can be used in an occupational setting to allow workers to be able to work with it.

Chemical data

Datasheets and pages are available for specific properties of chemicals in chemical elements data references: example, melting points of the elements (data page). Specific materials have technical data in individual sheets such as

ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...

: this includes subjects such as structure and properties, thermodynamic properties, spectral data, vapor pressure, etc. Other chemical datasheets are available from individual producers of chemicals, often on their web pages.

Datasheets for automobiles

Datasheets for automobiles may be described under several names such as features, specs, engineering data, technical summary, etc. They help communicate the technical information about a car to potential buyers and are useful for comparisons with similar cars. They might include: critical inside and outside dimensions, weight, fuel efficiency, engine and drive train, towing capability, safety features and options, warranty, etc.

Similar documents

Brochure A brochure is an promotional document primarily used to introduce a company, organization, products, or services and inform prospective customers or members of the public of the benefits. Although, initially, a paper document that can be folded ...

– focuses more on the benefits and advantages of a product and states fewer details, especially fewer quantitative parameters to describe the product. The beginning parts of a brochure and a datasheet for the same product may look the same and include the name of the product, the manufacturer's name, the logo and contact details, a brief description, and a photo of the scheme of the product. * Catalog – presents a variety of products compared to datasheets, which present one product or a relatively small group of similar products. Catalogs may present many of the parameters that are stated in product datasheets, but they are usually not as comprehensive as datasheets. *

User guide A user guide, also commonly known as a user manual, is intended to assist users in using a particular product, service or application. It is usually written by a technician, product developer, or a company's customer service staff. Most user gu ...

– deals more with the step-by-step usage of a product and may include a brief or complete list of parameters that describe the product, usually as an appendix for the actual user guide document. * Application note – a document that gives more specific details on using a component in a specific application, or relating to a particular process (e.g., the physical assembly of a product containing the component). An example of note could be, "this content is for the flipped content for ENG." Application notes are especially useful for giving guidance on more unusual uses of a particular component, which would be irrelevant to many readers of the more widely read datasheet. application notes may either be appended to a datasheet or presented as a separate document. * Technical specification – an explicit set of requirements to be satisfied by a material, product, or service

References

External links

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