I'm looking for a phrase you would use when you have made a fix to something but you are not sure what the problem is in the first place.
For example I pushed out a software fix today to address a problem but I was unable to find out what the problem was. What would you call that fix?
Thanks
Jonathan
If you know the "fix" will allow the system to carry on working by avoiding the underlying "real" problem then this is known as a "work around".
E.G. you do not call a sub-system that crashes, but, instead return a "not available" message, while you work out how to fix the more complex underlying problem.
I think the lack of addressing the underlying, root cause means that your fix is a stopgap measure.
something that serves as a temporary expedient
The implication is that you've not address the real issue, although it's not limited to cases where you don't know. For instance, a more complete fix may take weeks, but a temporary, stopgap fix will alleviate the problem from an end-user perspective. It's a commonly used term in software development.
