1. A method for computing one or more of a soft data value and a log likelihood ratio for a received value in one or more of a communication system and a memory device, comprising: obtaining at least one received value; identifying a segment of a function corresponding to said received value, wherein said function is defined over a plurality of segments, wherein each of said segments has an associated set of parameters; and calculating said one or more of said soft data value and said log likelihood ratio using said set of parameters associated with said identified segment.