Data processing is any computer process that converts data into information. The processing is usually assumed to be automated and running on an a mainframe, minicomputer, microcomputer, or personal computer. Because data are most useful when well-presented and actually informative, data-processing systems are often referred to as information systems to emphasize their practicality. Nevertheless, both terms are roughly synonymous, performing similar conversions; data-processing systems typically manipulate raw data into information, and likewise information systems typically take raw data as input to produce information as output.