Lanna
See also: Patch
A patch (French terms suggested: rubber patch or software rubber patch , in the plural: patches respecting the anglophone orthography, patchs by Francization; French term mainly used in professional environments: corrective ) is a section of code which one adds to a Logiciel, to make minor modifications there: correction of a bug, Translation, ace.
Origin
Its original significance is drawn from the utilities (free software) Diff and patch which respectively makes it possible to extract from the differences between two textual files and to apply changes to a file. The patches are thus modifications of textual files which are the source codes of the software. The patchs are thus with the image of the parts of fabrics bent with the Vêtement S to reinforce them.
The corrective measure has vocation to be distributed to all the users of the software, so as to minimize the distribution of the complete software (for reasons of cost in Band-width or quite simply to make it usable only by the recorded or paying users of the software).
Nature
It is normally presented in the form of a sequence of modifications to be made to the source code treated software, after which the code will have to be recompilé to obtain the modified version of the software.
However, in certain cases, in particular when the editor of the software does not wish that the users have access to his source code, the corrective measure can arise as an autonomous program which will graft on the original software a modification in the form of an addition of achievable code and installation of a branch instruction towards the section of code added.
Several corrective measures can be distributed simultaneously and are then gathered in a Service Pack ( SP ).
By abuse language, one calls sometimes patch the rubber patches or corrections of bugs delivered in the form of compiled code (binary) cancelling and replacing achievable or a library.
Limits of the principle
The principle of the patchs thus offers a palliative to the lacks of a software, but it has limits. The accumulation of patchs, especially of different sources, can with the image of the Patchwork, to pose a problem of total coherence. In addition, the order of application of the patches can prove to be essential: to pass a patch before another can lead a not easily recoverable situation. A far-sighted approach consists in envisaging what can evolve/move and to standardize evolutionarity while following for example an approach containing Plugin S.
See too
corrective measure
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