1. A method for applying a patch to a computer system, wherein the patch includes content to add to the computer, comprising: determining at least one of installed hardware and software components on the computer; generating a computer object including configuration information on the determined installed components; providing at least one patch including content to add to the computer, wherein each patch is capable of being associated with at least one realization, wherein each realization defines a state of the computer; for each realization, determining from the configuration information in the computer object whether the state defined by the realization exists in the computer; writing data to the computer object indicating whether the state defined by the realization exists on the computer; and using the computer object to determine whether each patch is compatible with the installed components of the computer.