Numeric, text, and categorical variables can be cast to one another by assigning them a new "type". This modifies the storage of the data on the server and should only be done in narrow circumstances, as in when importing data from a different file format has resulted in incorrect types being specified.
type(x)
type(x) <- value
# S4 method for class 'CrunchVariable'
type(x)
# S4 method for class 'VariableEntity'
type(x)
# S4 method for class 'CrunchVariable'
type(x) <- value
Getter returns character; setter returns x
duly modified.