Braniac Computer Geeks - what does this mean?

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"These are randomly generated and do not include any of the 'bootstrap' or known testing users "

What might bootstrap mean in this context? This is regarding the creation of a testing database of user accounts - Db Admins keep talking about three sets of data:
1. 10,000 user accounts with random attributes
2. "known testing users" (which I assume to mean accounts with specific attributes.)
3. "Bootstrap data" .. I though bootstrap sort of meant 'the data you start with', which would be 1 & 2. So it seems redundant. But then, I don't really know for sure what bootstrap means.


.. preferring to look stupid in this forum rather than in front of coworkers..

dave225 (Dave225), Thursday, 1 July 2004 14:09 (twenty years ago)

Think of an expression that uses the word "bootstrap".

Markelby (Mark C), Thursday, 1 July 2004 14:15 (twenty years ago)

Bootstrap usually refers to a computer systems 1st startup procedure/software usually from a ROM, in a database it could be talkibng about the initial code which starts the database.

Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Thursday, 1 July 2004 14:19 (twenty years ago)

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=define%3Abootstrap

check it

Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Thursday, 1 July 2004 14:19 (twenty years ago)

Thanks - I think it's this one:

The technique of random resampling from a given sample (usually with replacement, but sometimes without replacement using an extensive replication of the given sample to resample from) and computation of the statistic of interest after each resampling. Because the given sample should be shaped approximately like the unknown population, the bootstrap-produced distribution of the statistic of interest (as given by its relative frequency histogram) should be a good estimate of the unknown theoretical distribution of the statistic of interest. Many nonparametric estimation and hypothesis testing procedures can be constructed using bootstrapping to estimate the unknown distribution of the statistic of interest.

.. It's the statistics definition, rather than the computer definzzzzzzz......

dave225 (Dave225), Thursday, 1 July 2004 14:24 (twenty years ago)


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