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lucky.developer
April 30th, 2008, 02:42 PM
i have heard of this term "patch" in many of the pages in ubuntu.. what do they actually mean by it:confused:

clear explanation please :)

aheckler
April 30th, 2008, 02:44 PM
A patch is a small piece of software designed to update or fix problems with a computer program or its supporting data. This includes fixing bugs, replacing graphics and improving the usability or performance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patch_(computing)

Monicker
April 30th, 2008, 02:45 PM
i have heard of this term "patch" in many of the pages in ubuntu.. what do they actually mean by it:confused:

clear explanation please :)

A patch is a modification to a program, usually to fix a small problem or bug. Applying a patch lets you update an application without having to release a whole new version of it.

Its a bit more complicated than that, but that is the basics of it.

wadelewis4
April 30th, 2008, 02:45 PM
Usually it means a fix/update for software bugs.

Think of a garment that has a hole in it. Software can have "holes" too, and would need a "patch" to fix it/make it stronger.

:)

lucky.developer
April 30th, 2008, 03:00 PM
ok .. consider this situation

" i have released a software for the first time.. and it has a few bugs those which can be solved in my source code line nos say 12423,12334 etc.,"

now if i want to fix this bug... i should release a patch for my software ... am i right????
if yes.. should i correct the source code in the corresponding line nos and release the corrected software and name it as "patch" or what ....

lucky.developer
April 30th, 2008, 03:19 PM
somebody... reply please...

Monicker
April 30th, 2008, 03:24 PM
ok .. consider this situation

" i have released a software for the first time.. and it has a few bugs those which can be solved in my source code line nos say 12423,12334 etc.,"

now if i want to fix this bug... i should release a patch for my software ... am i right????
if yes.. should i correct the source code in the corresponding line nos and release the corrected software and name it as "patch" or what ....

You wanted it simple at first. :) Now you are getting into somewhat more dangerous territory.

You can modify the source and send out the whole thing again, or you can create a patch file which only modifies the necessary sections of the source. The benefit is that a patch is going to be a lot smaller, but the recipient also needs to know how to apply a patch file.


And please be patient in waiting for a reply.

aeiah
April 30th, 2008, 03:29 PM
ok .. consider this situation

" i have released a software for the first time.. and it has a few bugs those which can be solved in my source code line nos say 12423,12334 etc.,"

now if i want to fix this bug... i should release a patch for my software ... am i right????
if yes.. should i correct the source code in the corresponding line nos and release the corrected software and name it as "patch" or what ....

if you released the whole thing, with the bugfixes, then it would not be classed as a patch, no, it would be an updated version of the software and would have an updated version number. a patch would be a small part of code that would be applied to the existing buggy software to fix the bugs. this is useful for large software or where the revision to the software is only very small, but on the whole, with small programs, its usually best to just release an updated version

lucky.developer
May 1st, 2008, 09:56 AM
thanks