Data cube

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For the data mining concept, see, see OLAP cube.

In computer programming contexts, a data cube is a three- (or higher) dimensional array of values, commonly used to describe a time series of image data. If the images are in color, then the array is generally four-dimensional, with the dimensions representing image X and Y coordinates, time, and RGB color plane. Many high-level computer languages treat data cubes and other large arrays as single entities distinct from their contents. These languages, of which APL, IDL, NumPy, and PDL are examples, allow the programmer to manipulate complete movie clips and other data en masse with simple expressions derived from linear algebra and vector mathematics. Some languages (such as Perl Data Language) distinguish between a list of images and a data cube, while many (such as IDL) do not.

A tensor of rank three may be represented as a data cube.