You query a DBMS system table named USER_TABLES and get columns like 'TableName', 'NumberOfColumns', and 'PrimaryKey'. What kind of data are you looking at?

Introduction / Context:
System catalogs (data dictionaries) describe database objects. Understanding this distinction is fundamental to administration and SQL tooling.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Table name resembles a system/user catalog (e.g., USER_TABLES).
• Columns describe properties of tables, not business records.

Concept / Approach:
Metadata is “data about data.” It includes table names, column counts, primary keys, data types, constraints, and other structural information.

Step-by-Step Reasoning:

Verification / Alternative check:
Compare with a typical business table (e.g., ORDERS) which stores user data like amounts and dates, not schema descriptions.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• User data → actual business records; not structural.
• A report → presentation format, not the nature of the data.
• Indexes → separate objects; while related, they are not the catalog view itself.

Common Pitfalls:
Confusing system catalogs (metadata) with application tables.

Final Answer:
metadata