
The reason it's called a “patch” in software - ilamont
https://twitter.com/Bill_Gross/status/957191578849873920/photo/1
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eesmith
I wonder if it comes from older use in a related field.

More specifically, I know that "patch" was used for punched cards in general,
not just software. My reference is from "Punched Cards -- their Applications
to Science and Industry", p49, at
[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015015125910;vi...](https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015015125910;view=1up;seq=65)
:

> Wrong [information] coding may be corrected by pasting a small linen "patch"
> over the slotted portion between two holes.

However, that reference is 10 years after the Mark 1, so it's possible that
that terminology may have come from computers first. Unlikely, I think.

