A vector of values presented at one time to all the input units of a neural
network is called a "case", "example", "pattern, "sample", etc. The term
"case" will be used in this FAQ because it is widely recognized,
unambiguous, and requires less typing than the other terms. A case may
include not only input values, but also target values and possibly other
information. 

A vector of values presented at different times to a single input unit is
often called an "input variable" or "feature". To a statistician, it is a
"predictor", "regressor", "covariate", "independent variable", "explanatory
variable", etc. A vector of target values associated with a given output
unit of the network during training will be called a "target variable" in
this FAQ. To a statistician, it is usually a "response" or "dependent
variable". 

A "data set" is a matrix containing one or (usually) more cases. In this
FAQ, it will be assumed that cases are rows of the matrix, while variables
are columns. 

Note that the often-used term "input vector" is ambiguous; it can mean
either an input case or an input variable. 

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