Editing Kludge (section)

=== Computer science ===
In modern [[computer science|computing]] terminology, a "kludge" (or often a "'''hack'''") is a solution to a problem, the performance of a task, or a system fix which is inefficient, inelegant ("hacky"), or even incomprehensible, but which somehow works. It is similar to a [[workaround]], but quick. To "kludge around something" is to avoid a [[Computer bug|bug]] or difficulty by building a kludge, perhaps exploiting properties of the bug itself. A kludge is often used to modify a working system while avoiding fundamental changes, or to ensure backwards compatibility. ''Hack'' can also be used with a positive connotation, for a quick solution to a frustrating problem.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kidder |first=Tracey |title=The Soul of a New Machine |publisher=Avon |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-380-59931-8 |title-link=The Soul of a New Machine}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Raymond |first1=Eric S. |title=The Jargon File: The Meaning of 'Hack' |url=http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/meaning-of-hack.html |date=2004}}</ref>

A kludge is often used to fix an unanticipated problem in an earlier kludge; this is essentially a kind of [[cruft]].

A solution might be a kludge if it fails in [[corner case]]s. An intimate knowledge of the problem domain and execution environment is typically required to build a corner-case kludge. More commonly, a kludge is a [[heuristic (computer science)|heuristic]] which was expected to work almost always, but ends up failing often.

A 1960s [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] anecdote tells of a computer part which needed a slightly delayed signal to work. Rather than setting up a timing system, the kludge was to connect long coils of internal wires to slow the electrical signal.

Another type of kludge is the evasion of an unknown problem or bug in a [[computer program]]. Rather than continue to struggle to diagnose and fix the bug, the programmer may write additional code to compensate. For example, if a variable keeps ending up doubled, a kludge may be to add later code that divides by two rather than to search for the original incorrect computation.

In computer networking, use of [[Network address translation|NAT]] (Network Address Translation) (RFC 1918) or [[Port address translation|PAT]] (Port Address Translation) to cope with the shortage of [[Internet Protocol|IPv4]] addresses is an example of a kludge.

In [[FidoNet]] terminology, ''kludge'' refers to a piece of control data embedded inside a message.