what is it called when you use a specific piece of data rather than a variable for a value that should be able to change

Answer 1

When you use a specific piece of data instead of a variable for a value that should be able to change, it is typically referred to as "hardcoding." Hardcoding is the practice of embedding fixed values directly into the code (such as numbers or strings) instead of using variables that can be modified. This can lead to inflexible and difficult-to-maintain code, as changing the value requires modifying the source code itself rather than simply updating a variable or configuration.