>>PTF == "Program Temporary Fix"
>>4.2.2.0, 5.2.1.0, etc., are PTFs
>>
>>PTF != "Patch"
>>4.2.2.6, 5.2.1.1, etc. are patches (or "interim fixes", as we are now
>>being asked to call them)

>>From my past knowledge of AIX the patches were called PTFs. Something like
>4.2.1.1, 4.3.3.27 or 5.1.0.38 of particular package or set of packages.
>OTOH when bundle of patches goes through more testing, it is considered
>less "temporary" and is called Maintenance. Going far back to AIX 3.2 or
>4.1 I recall maintenance levels also mentioned as PTFs but haven't seen
>this for newer versions and assumed that such practice was abandoned.
>
>As I have not seen formal definition what is in and what is out of the
>term PTF, I can only rely on my interpretation.

Definitions can shift over time - and can vary somewhat across segments
of IBM (iSeries, pSeries, etc.).  In my quarter-century of working with
IBM software, "PTF" has traditionally been an individual fix, equating
to what other computer vendors termed a "patch".

http://www.developer.ibm.com/tech/faq/individual/0,,2:11609,00.html says:

   A PTF is a temporary solution to or bypass of a problem diagnosed by IBM
   as resulting from a defect in the current release of a licensed program.

   A cumulative PTF package [sometimes called a CUMe] contains PTFs that
   fix frequently reported problems since the start of a release.

Thus, I would tend to think of "5.1.2.0" as a PTF *level*, being a cumulative
collection of fixes (PTFs) issued as a formally tested whole.  A PTF remains
an individual fix, as so noted in countless IBM database entries where each
PTF has a unique two-letter+five-number identity.

Tivoli's formal definition of the Release and Maintenance scheme, at
http://www-3.ibm.com/software/sysmgmt/products/support/
 Tivoli_Software_Maintenance_and_Release_Strategy.html
leaves things ill-defined, addressing the first three number elements
(V R M) but not the fourth (L).

Conceptions are also fostered by FTP site directory naming conventions,
where ftp.software.ibm.com/storage/tivoli-storage-management/
contains "maintenance" and "patches" - which makes for some customer
head-scratching as to the distinction, but clarified by READMEs
specifying like "This is patch level 5.2.0.2" and "These fixes will be tested
further by IBM Tivoli Storage Management and included in the next PTF.",
wherein "PTF" indicates the next tri-numbered issue of a PTF *level* set.

On balance, then, I think the term "PTF" is being muddied by IBM as a company.
It remains formally defined as Program Temporary Fix, the connotation
remaining that of an individual fix, rather than a (large) collection of
fixes as is being more loosely called a "PTF" rather more appropriately
a PTF level set, or CUMe.  It would benefit customers if IBM/Tivoli would
update their Software_Maintenance_and_Release_Strategy web page to fully
clarify nomenclature.

  Richard Sims,  http://people.bu.edu/rbs