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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