Informatics Informatics is the study of computational systems, especially those for data storage and retrieval. According to ACM ''Europe and'' ''Informatics Europe'', informatics is synonymous with computer science and computing as a profession, in which ...

, dummy data is benign information that does not contain any useful

data In the pursuit of knowledge, data (; ) is a collection of discrete values that convey information, describing quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpreted ...

, but serves to reserve space where real data is nominally present. Dummy data can be used as a

placeholder Placeholder may refer to: Language * Placeholder name, a term or terms referring to something or somebody whose name is not known or, in that particular context, is not significant or relevant. * Filler text, text generated to fill space or provi ...

for both testing and operational purposes. For testing, dummy data can also be used as stubs or pad to avoid

software testing Software testing is the act of examining the artifacts and the behavior of the software under test by validation and verification. Software testing can also provide an objective, independent view of the software to allow the business to apprecia ...

issues by ensuring that all variables and data fields are occupied. In operational use, dummy data may be transmitted for

OPSEC Operations security (OPSEC) is a process that identifies critical information to determine if friendly actions can be observed by enemy intelligence, determines if information obtained by adversaries could be interpreted to be useful to them, a ...

purposes. Dummy data must be rigorously evaluated and documented to ensure that it does not cause unintended effects.

See also