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When used in program logic, literals can reduce the readability of source code.  As a result, literals in general, and integer constants in particular, are frequently referred to as _magic numbers_ because their purpose is often obscured. Magic numbers may be constant values that represent either an arbitrary value (such as a determined appropriate buffer size) or a malleable concept (such as the age a person is considered an adult, which could change between geopolitical boundaries). Rather than embed literals in program logic, use appropriately named symbolic constants to clarify the intent of the code. In addition, if a specific value needs to be changed, reassigning a symbolic constant once is more efficient and less error prone than replacing every instance of the value. \[[Saks 02|AA. C References#Saks 02]\].