A development technique that automatically updates running applications with code changes while preserving the current application state. Unlike full page reloads, it injects only the changed modules, maintaining user interactions and data.
Developed in the Lisp community in the 1960s-70s, the term 'hot' comes from the idea of swapping components while the system is still 'hot' (running). It gained mainstream attention with React Hot Loader around 2014 and became a standard feature in modern development tools.
Hot reloading is like editing a live TV show - you can change the script and see updates instantly without stopping the broadcast or losing where you were in the story! This means you can tweak a button's color and see the change immediately without losing your login state or navigation position.
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