Software Engineering vocabulary · Release and Maintenance
Roll back
Meaning in software engineering, with examples
/ˌroʊl ˈbæk/phrasal verbCommon term
In software engineering, roll back means: To return a system to an earlier working version after a release or change causes problems.
In Turkish: geri almak, önceki sürüme dönmek
How it is used
Often said under pressure during incidents: 'Roll it back!', 'We rolled back the deployment.' The noun is one word, 'rollback', as in 'a rollback plan'. Database changes can be harder to roll back than code.
Example sentences
Error rates doubled after the release, so we rolled back within ten minutes.
Every deployment needs a rollback plan.
Common collocations
roll back a release
roll back the deployment
rollback plan
automatic rollback
Related terms
deployTo put a new version of software onto servers or devices so that it starts running there, for example in a test environment or for real users.
releaseA version of a product that is made available to users, or the act of making it available. Also a verb: to release a new version.
hotfixAn urgent fix for a serious problem in production, released quickly outside the normal release schedule.
productionThe live environment where real users use the software, as opposed to development or test environments.
