What programming technique involves changing variables from one data type to another?

The programming technique that involves changing variables from one data type to another is known as casting. Casting explicitly converts a variable from one data type to another, allowing developers to define how the conversion should occur. For instance, you might cast a string to a number when performing arithmetic operations, which enables the correct calculations to take place.

In programming languages like JavaScript, casting can be explicit, where the developer uses specific functions or constructs to convert between types, such as Number("123") to convert a string into a number. This technique is essential to ensure type compatibility, especially in situations where operations expect certain types of data.

While conversion is a broader term that can encompass various processes of changing data types, casting specifically refers to the explicit act of changing a variable's type. Parsing, on the other hand, generally refers to the process of analyzing a string or data structure to extract meaningful information rather than directly changing types. Implicit typing refers to the behavior of some programming languages that automatically assign data types based on the variable's value, rather than being defined by the programmer, and is not directly related to manually changing types.