Thanks Ira. Hot links, if I'm saying it right, You enter a keystroke and then the app launches.
The term
Hot Link generally refers to a link on a page that either takes the user to another location or pulls in data, typically a graphic, from another site or location. What you are describing would be more generally is referred to as an
application launcher. Search the App Store for application launcher and you will find a hundred or so applications and ranging in price from free to around $6, using an equally wide range of techniques. Hopefully one or more of these will meet your needs.