[Ads-l] software "patch"

[mr_peter_morris@outlook.com]

A recent Youtube piece on the origin of "patch" in software terms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfm1HoTiYAY

Allegedly,  it comes from putting a literal patch over an incorrect
punched card.

This sounds like folk etymology to me.  I mean, the word "patch" is
widely used for various things that repair a minor defect. You can have
a patch to repair a small tear or hole in clothing, you can patch a leaky
roof, you can patch a flat bike tyre, you can put a patch over a missing eye,
and so on.  A software patch just seems like a natural extension of that.

Also, it seems to me like it would be quicker just to make a brand new
punched  card, than to repair an old one. And I don't know what the extra
thickness would do to the mechanism. Would it still feed through, or would
it jam?


Can the word sleuths of ADS  help? What is the true origin of the term.  What
is the first known use of patch in a  software context? Did the practice of sticking
patches on punched cards happen at all?



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