Discrete vs Continuous Attributes Discrete Attribute Has only a finite or countably infinite set of values E.g., zip codes, profession, or the set of words in a collection of documents Sometimes represented as integer variables Note: Binary attributes are a special case of discrete attributes Continuous attribute Has real numbers as attribute values E.g. temperature, height or weight Practically, real values can only be measured and represented using a finite number of digits Continuous attributes are typically represented as floating-point variables8 Discrete vs. Continuous Attributes ◼ Discrete Attribute ◼ Has only a finite or countably infinite set of values ◼ E.g., zip codes, profession, or the set of words in a collection of documents ◼ Sometimes, represented as integer variables ◼ Note: Binary attributes are a special case of discrete attributes ◼ Continuous Attribute ◼ Has real numbers as attribute values ◼ E.g., temperature, height, or weight ◼ Practically, real values can only be measured and represented using a finite number of digits ◼ Continuous attributes are typically represented as floating-point variables