[Ads-l] software "patch"

[Rich Lowenthal]

Back in the days of punch cards, I certainly saw many such patches: the 
procedure was a real thing. That doesn't mean that the use of "patch" in 
software came from the punch cards; the use of the word "patch" was 
common in radio and electronics to mean some sort of fix (often through 
patch cables), and it seems more likely that software inherited the word 
from that earlier usage.


------ Original Message ------
>From "mr_peter_morris at outlook.com" <mr_peter_morris at OUTLOOK.COM>
To ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Date 12/19/2024 22:30:47
Subject software "patch"

>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?
>
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org