massage

( vt.)

   [common]  Vague  term  used to describe `smooth' transformations of a
   data set into a different form, esp. transformations that do not lose
   information. Connotes less pain than {munch} or {crunch}. "He wrote a
   program  that  massages  X  bitmap  files  into  GIF format." Compare
   {slurp}.

[glossary]