Time lines are used to help visualize what is happening in time value of money problems. Cash flows are placed directly below the tick marks, and interest rates are shown directly above the time line; unknown cash flows are indicated by a symbol for the particular item that is missing.
This page explains how you can apply a patch file. Patch is a standard format, and there are many options for how to apply one. Pick the one that is easiest for you. Perhaps most critical is the usage of the -p flag, which tells patch about the relationship between the directory where the patch file is located and the files that will be patched.
Know exactly why I prefer an iThing to others. A deb file is a packaged group of files, like a zip. It does have a special structure to allow running stuff before or after the files are uncompressed and installed. A Deb file is usually used for Debian Linux operating systems, or variations of it like Ubuntu. The iPhone has nothing to do with Linux, besides both being UNIX based, and sharing a lot of open source apps.