Step Seven - What Are Patches and Do You Need Them?Generally, a patch is the term used to refer to pieces of software that are created in order to give updates or fixes to existing programs that need to be rehashed or repaired. Patches fix bugs, replace graphics and improve a program’s performance or functionality. Patches can be quite useful and are usually needed if there are certain imperfections in the programs that you are using, nevertheless, patches which are not perfectly made can also lead to other problems.
What are the various kinds of patches?Programmers tend to create different forms of patches, each one having its own function and characteristics. Software that have policies of proprietary are delivered as executable files instead of the sources. Such kinds of patches tend to alter the executable program run by the user by either replacing the entire executable program completely or by just making some changes to the binary file.
Other patches can also be circulated as actual source codes themselves. In such cases as these, there would be a few textual differentiations between the original source code and the one included in the patch. Such types of patches are made for projects which have open sources. For these kinds of patches, the programmers tend to assume that the users would be able to carry out the update by themselves without the help of any executable files.
Patches can also come in larger forms. And since the term patch is more usually associated with small or short fixes, some bigger patches can be sometimes called service packs or software updates. Microsoft Windows are known to make use of such terms in order to refer to their updates. Nevertheless, even in the guise of another name, they are still nonetheless patches.
Other operating systems such, as Linux, along with other systems that are quite like Unix, have patches which are distributed as full software packages. Such patches have their own installers which will work so that they can serve as an upgrade to current existing versions or as stand-alone installers that can be set up on their own.
More information available on the following page:
What Are Patches And Are They Needed? - 2
