A hotfix is an update to a piece of software that is released in between numbered version releases, and addresses a particular bug or issue. It consists of one or a few files, rather than a complete installation of the software package. It is useless without the original software installation.
To me "hotfix" definitely implies a fix that can be applied to a running system without stopping it, such as a database server -- that's the "hot" part.
Comments by jmswisher
jmswisher commented on the word hotfix
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotfix
http://kb.iu.edu/data/algb.html
A hotfix is an update to a piece of software that is released in between numbered version releases, and addresses a particular bug or issue. It consists of one or a few files, rather than a complete installation of the software package. It is useless without the original software installation.
To me "hotfix" definitely implies a fix that can be applied to a running system without stopping it, such as a database server -- that's the "hot" part.
September 9, 2009