Introduction

Data mining

sub data mining (definition of)

and knowledge discovery is a family of computational methods that aim at collecting and analyzing data related to the function of a system of interest for the purpose of gaining a better understanding of it. This system of interest might be artificial or natural. According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary the term

sub system

system

is derived from the Greek terms

syn

(plus, with, along with, together, at the same time) and

istanai

(to cause to stand) and it means a complex entity which is comprised of other more elementary entities which in turn may be comprised of other even more elementary entities and so on. All these entities are somehow interconnected with each other and form a unified whole (the

system

). Thus, all these entities are related to each other and their collective operation is of interest to the analyst, hence the need to employ data mining and

sub data mining

sub knowledge discovery, see

data mining

knowledge discovery (DM&KD) methods. Some illustrative examples of various systems are given in the next section.