In the jargon of

computer programming Computer programming is the process of performing a particular computation (or more generally, accomplishing a specific computing result), usually by designing and building an executable computer program. Programming involves tasks such as ana ...

, a source upgrade is a modification of a

computer program A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to execute. Computer programs are one component of software, which also includes documentation and other intangible components. A computer program ...

source code In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of code, with or without comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a program is specially designed to facilitate the wo ...

, which adds new features and options to it, improves performance and stability, or fixes bugs and errors from the previous

version Version may refer to: Computing * Software version, a set of numbers that identify a unique evolution of a computer program * VERSION (CONFIG.SYS directive), a configuration directive in FreeDOS Music * Cover version * Dub version * Remix * ''Ve ...

. There are two popular types of source upgrades, which are listed here: *

Patch Patch or Patches may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Patch Johnson, a fictional character from ''Days of Our Lives'' * Patch (''My Little Pony''), a toy * "Patches" (Dickey Lee song), 1962 * "Patches" (Chairmen of the Board song) ...

: source upgrade, where the modification of original source is provided in a special patch program. The patch is released by the developer of

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...

. Generally, this type of source upgrade focus on bug and error fixing, not on adding new features to the

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

. Patches are available on sites or FTP's of application developer. They can be also obtained from various computer magazines. *

Source port A source port is a software project based on the source code of a game engine that allows the game to be played on operating systems or computing platforms with which the game was not originally compatible. Description Source ports are often cr ...

, which is a user modification (

mod Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...

). The source port modification focuses on changes in original source code (mostly adding new features – like 3D renderers support, new graphic technologies usage or porting the game into other platform, which the original was not available for), without editing the other resources of software. Most of source ports are created for old, classic games — for example: ''

Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...

'', '' Quake I/II'', '' Strife'', ''

Duke Nukem 3D ''Duke Nukem 3D'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by 3D Realms. It is a sequel to the platform games ''Duke Nukem'' and ''Duke Nukem II'', published by 3D Realms. ''Duke Nukem 3D'' features the adventures of the titular Duke Nuke ...

'', ''

Rise of the Triad ''Rise of the Triad: Dark War'' is a first-person shooter video game, developed and published by Apogee Software (now 3D Realms) in 1995. The player can choose one of five different characters to play as, each bearing unique attributes such as ...

''. The source code of those applications can be easily and legally downloaded from the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

under

GPL The GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or simply GPL) is a series of widely used free software licenses that guarantee end users the four freedoms to run, study, share, and modify the software. The license was the first copyleft for general u ...

license – they were released by the developers. Of course, those are custom applications and are not supported by the producers of software in any way.

External links

Patches, Upgrades, Updates & Drivers

Icculus Homepage – creator of multi-platform source ports

WolfGL & NewWolf Homepage

DarkPlaces Homepage

Doomworld – Doom Source Ports section
Source code {{compu-prog-stub

See also

External links