How to translate “kludge” into Spanish

Question

There in software development, we sometimes use a solution, which is to prop the existing code up, not to fix the real cause of the problem. It might be called “dirty hack,” or “makeshift,” or “kludge.”

It’s wry and is usually used in a negative sense, like “I’ll put a kludge here for now, but when we are not in rush, it should be fixed properly.” The code behaves as a human being on their crutches: they walk somehow, but the observers fear they to drop down.

My question is: what is the word in Spanish we use to denote “kludge”/“makeshift” in the software code?

Answer 1

Right now I cannot think of a specific word for the computer science world. We tend to use generic words for that:

chapuza

1. f. Obra o trabajo, generalmente de mantenimiento, de poca importancia.
2. f. Trabajo hecho mal y sin esmero.

The second meaning is the one you need: you can say that a quick, poorly written fix in software is a chapuza.

Another word that is spreading lately all along Spain for the same purpose is ñapa, though it is still not accepted by the RAE with that meaning (it has another meaning in Latin America).

_{(More info about ñapa, in Spanish: ¿Qué significa "ñapa" en el titulo de la canción "ñapa es" de Ska-p?)}

Answer 2

Otra posible traducción es 'apaño'. Una solución improvisada y mediocre a un problema. Un truco poco sofisticado y temporal para corregir un problema imprevisto. En la jerga informática se supone que es un acrónimo de "klumsy, lame, ugly, dumb, but good enough" (torpe, cojo, feo, tonto, pero suficientemente bueno).'