17 lines
910 B
Plaintext
17 lines
910 B
Plaintext
fudge factor
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n. [common] A value or parameter that is varied in an ad hoc way to produce
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the desired result. The terms tolerance and slop are also used, though these
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usually indicate a one-sided leeway, such as a buffer that is made larger
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than necessary because one isn't sure exactly how large it needs to be, and
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it is better to waste a little space than to lose completely for not having
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enough. A fudge factor, on the other hand, can often be tweaked in more than
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one direction. A good example is the fuzz typically allowed in
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floating-point calculations: two numbers being compared for equality must be
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allowed to differ by a small amount; if that amount is too small, a
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computation may never terminate, while if it is too large, results will be
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needlessly inaccurate. Fudge factors are frequently adjusted incorrectly by
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programmers who don't fully understand their import. See also coefficient of
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X.
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