<s>
The	O
import	B-General_Concept
and	I-General_Concept
export	I-General_Concept
of	I-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
is	O
the	O
automated	O
or	O
semi-automated	O
input	B-General_Concept
and	I-General_Concept
output	I-General_Concept
of	O
data	B-General_Concept
sets	I-General_Concept
between	O
different	O
software	B-Application
applications	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
involves	O
"	O
translating	O
"	O
from	O
the	O
format	O
used	O
in	O
one	O
application	O
into	O
that	O
used	O
by	O
another	O
,	O
where	O
such	O
translation	O
is	O
accomplished	O
automatically	O
via	O
machine	O
processes	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
transcoding	B-Algorithm
,	O
data	B-General_Concept
transformation	I-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
others	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Import	B-General_Concept
and	I-General_Concept
export	I-General_Concept
of	I-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
shares	O
semantic	O
analogy	O
with	O
copying	B-General_Concept
and	I-General_Concept
pasting	I-General_Concept
,	O
in	O
that	O
sets	O
of	O
data	O
are	O
copied	O
from	O
one	O
application	O
and	O
pasted	O
into	O
another	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
fact	O
,	O
the	O
software	O
development	O
behind	O
operating	O
system	O
clipboards	O
(	O
and	O
clipboard	O
extender	O
apps	O
)	O
greatly	O
concerns	O
the	O
many	O
details	O
and	O
challenges	O
of	O
data	B-General_Concept
transformation	I-General_Concept
and	O
transcoding	B-Algorithm
,	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
present	O
the	O
end	O
user	O
with	O
the	O
illusion	O
of	O
effortless	O
copy	B-General_Concept
and	I-General_Concept
paste	I-General_Concept
between	O
any	O
two	O
apps	O
,	O
no	O
matter	O
how	O
internally	O
different	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ability	O
to	O
import	O
and	O
export	O
data	O
(	O
or	O
lack	O
of	O
such	O
ability	O
)	O
has	O
large	O
economic	O
implications	O
,	O
because	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
resource-intensive	O
to	O
input	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
in	O
non-automated	O
ways	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
manual	O
rekeying	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
because	O
lack	O
of	O
interoperability	O
and	O
data	B-Application
portability	I-Application
between	O
systems	O
unable	O
to	O
import	O
or	O
export	O
data	O
between	O
each	O
other	O
causes	O
stovepiping	O
,	O
lack	O
of	O
opportunity	O
and	O
efficiencies	O
such	O
as	O
those	O
seen	O
in	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
mash-ups	B-Application
,	O
and	O
may	O
not	O
suffice	O
in	O
its	O
ability	O
to	O
search	O
for	O
information	O
as	O
enabled	O
by	O
tools	O
such	O
as	O
grep	B-Application
.	O
</s>
