patch
= P =
patch space
patch pumpkin n.
[Perl hackers] A notional token passed
around among the members of a project. Possession of the patch
pumpkin means one has the exclusive authority to make
changes on the project's master source tree. The implicit
assumption is that `pumpkin holder' status is temporary and
rotates periodically among senior project members.
This term comes from the Perl development community, but has been
sighted elsewhere. It derives from a stuffed-toy pumpkin
that was passed around at a development shop years ago as
the access control for a shared backup-tape drive.
--The Jargon File version 4.3.1, ed. ESR, autonoded by rescdsk.