Data mining (sometimes called data or knowledge discovery) is the use of automated tools to examine and analyze data that has been stored in a database in order to find new, previously unknown relationships.
Pilot Software's White Paper (1998) explains the origin of the term as follows:
"Data mining derives its name from the similarities between searching for valuable business information in a large database...and mining a mountain for a vein of valuable ore. Both processes require either sifting through an immense amount of material, or intelligently probing it to find exactly where the v…
