I agree that the terminology I used in my post isn't mainstream, and I won't claim it is. However, I couldn't think of a different word which would have the sam

I agree that the terminology I used in my post isn't mainstream, and I won't claim it is. However, I couldn't think of a different word which would have the same familiarity with this audience which could plausibly carry that meaning. If anyone else can come up with better words, I'll use them. To be clear, here's what I mean: Conversion: The machine looks at the current type to figure out how to transform the value into a valid instance of the new type. Casting: The machine ignores the current type and simply applies the new type.