What is parsing ?

Without knowing in which context this word is used, parsing means interpreting data and processing it in some way. For example, PHP code on a webserver is 'parsed' and ultimately converted/generated into an HTML file. Also many desktop applications have configuration files which needs to be 'parsed'. In this context it means reading the configuration file and converting it into variables used by the application. A more common example is on forums where "UBB" code is 'parsed' for example if you want to add quotes you can use [ quote ] .. [ /quote ] that is ultimately 'parsed' by the server to present it visually instead of displaying this as literal text.

So an easy word for parsing can also be 'reading' but it depends on the context used.