What mechanism or approach is used to convert data from one type to another within a single processing stream?

To transform data from one type to another within a single processing stream, the map mechanism (mapping) is often used. It is a function that takes a stream element, transforms it, and returns a new element with a different type or value.

For example, in Android, when working with data streams (such as using RxJava or Kotlin Flow), you can apply the map operator to transform objects:

val numbers = flowOf(1, 2, 3)
val strings = numbers.map { it.toString() }
strings.collect { println(it) }  // Will output "1", "2", "3"

Thus, map allows sequential transformation of data without interrupting the stream.