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