Meaning of "Canonical System of the First Order"

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I am learning about PDEs and came across the following.

"Convert a partial differential equation of higher order into a canonical system of the first order"

What does the above statement mean/imply? How does one convert, say, a second order PDE into a canonical system of the first order? A simple example (or online readings) to illustrate the process will be appreciated.

Regards, Radz.