OCR GCSE Computer Science Complete Practice Exam 2025

The process of changing from one data type to another is referred to as casting. This term often involves converting a value from one data type, such as an integer, to another, like a float, or from a string to an integer, depending on the requirements of the program. It is important for ensuring that data is in the correct format for operations to be performed correctly.

Casting is typically used when the programmer wants to ensure that a specific type is used, especially in programming languages that are strongly typed. The ability to cast data types helps in preventing errors that may occur if operations are attempted on incompatible data types.

While "type conversion" is a similar concept, it is often used to describe broader changes between types that can happen implicitly or explicitly, depending on the programming language. "Parsing" refers to analyzing a string of symbols, either in natural language or computer languages, and "typecasting", while commonly used, is not as widely accepted in technical terminology as casting. Thus, casting is the most accurate and commonly used term for this specific process in programming contexts.