Program temporary fix

In IBM terminology, a program temporary fix or product temporary fix (PTF), sometimes depending on date, is a one or more bug fixes – distributed in a form ready to install.

A PTF normally follows an Authorized Program Analysis Report (APAR), and where an "APAR fix" was issued, the PTF "is a tested APAR" or set of APAR fixes. However, if an APAR is resolved as "Fixed If Next" or "Permanent Restriction" then there may be no PTF fixing it, only a subsequent release.

PTFs are used across multiple IBM platforms and are typically installed using platform-specific service tools. For example, on IBM i, PTFs can be applied either temporarily or permanently, with temporarily applied fixes remaining reversible until they are made permanent. IBM i also distributes fixes in aggregated forms such as cumulative PTF packages (implemented as PTF groups). On z/OS, PTFs are commonly installed and tracked using System Modification Program/Extended (SMP/E). On z/VM, VMSES/E provides an installation and service toolset used for servicing software levels, including corrective service delivered as PTFs.

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