(patches, patching, patched)

<software> 1. A temporary addition to a piece of code, usually as a quick-and-dirty remedy to an existing bug or misfeature. A patch may or may not work, and may or may not eventually be incorporated permanently into the program. Distinguished from a diff or mod by the fact that a patch is generated by more primitive means than the rest of the program; the classical examples are instructions modified by using the front panel switches, and changes made directly to the binary executable of a program originally written in an HLL. Compare one-line fix. 2. To insert a patch into a piece of code. 3. [in the Unix world] A diff. 4. A set of modifications to binaries to be applied by a patching program. IBM systems often receive updates to the operating system in the form of absolute hexadecimal patches. If you have modified your OS, you have to disassemble these back to the source code. The patches might later be corrected by other patches on top of them (patches were said to "grow scar tissue"). The result was often a convoluted patch space and headaches galore. There is a classic story of a tiger team penetrating a secure military computer that illustrates the danger inherent in binary patches (or, indeed, any patches that you can't - or don't - inspect and examine before installing). They couldn't find any trap doors or any way to penetrate security of IBM's OS, so they made a site visit to an IBM office (remember, these were official military types who were purportedly on official business), swiped some IBM stationery, and created a fake patch. The patch was actually the trapdoor they needed. The patch was distributed at about the right time for an IBM patch, had official stationery and all accompanying documentation, and was dutifully installed. The installation manager very shortly thereafter learned something about proper procedures. 5. Larry Wall's "patch" utility program, which automatically applies a patch to a set of source code or other text files. Patch accepts input in any of the four forms output by the Unix diff utility. When the files being patched are not identical to those on which the diffs were based, patch uses heuristics to determine how to proceed. Diff and patch are the standard way of producing and applying updates under Unix. Both have been ported to other operating systems. patch/patch.html">Patch Home (http://gnu.org/software/patch/patch.html). [Jargon File] (2005-05-16)

n.

The striosomes (also referred to as patches) are one of two complementary chemical compartments within the striatum (the other compartment is known as the matrix) that can be visualized by staining for immunocytochemical markers such as acetylcholinesterase, enkephalin, substance P, limbic system-associated membrane protein (LAMP), AMPA receptor subunit 1 (GluR1), dopamine receptor subunits, and calcium binding proteins. Striosomal abnormalities have been associated with neurological disorders, such as mood dysfunction in Huntington's disease, though their precise function remains unknown.

A patch is a set of changes to a computer program or its supporting data designed to update, fix, or improve it. This includes fixing security vulnerabilities and other bugs, with such patches usually being called bugfixes or bug fixes.

Peyer's patches (or aggregated lymphoid nodules) are organized lymphoid follicles, named after the 17th-century Swiss anatomist Johann Conrad Peyer.

Patches & Pockets was a Saturday morning television show that aired for over eighteen years in Toledo, Ohio on TV channel 11, WTOL. The title characters were a brother and sister pair of rag dolls played by Bev Schwind and Sue Donner, respectively.