This is a nice syntax, although it makes some people cross as it. In ruby, a monkey patch mp is any dynamic modification to a class and is often used as a synonym for dynamically modifying any class add new or overwrite existing methods at runtime. Guerillapatch is a ruby gem to ease the transition to ruby 2. This is a community driven project, so you are encouraged to. As such, this page will be updated on a regular basis to include additional information and cover emerging ruby techniques. This is my take on what i consider to be best practice. Monkey patching fixnum and bignum without duplication ruby monkeypatching. How to monkey patch a class in ruby solid foundation web. Whats the largest integer that fits inside a fixnum.
But just for fun well use rubys open class behavior to monkey patch fixnum s implementation. This article looks at how to minimize the risk of opening classes, alternatives, and how other languages provide similar capabilities. The ability to change the way classes behave at runtimeaka monkeypatching has been used by many libraries and frameworks to decorate rubys core classes with additions andor replacements. Other forms of modifying classes at runtime have different names. For rough compatibility, i defined fixnum and bignum as integer. Refinements due to rubys open classes you can redefine or add functionality to existing classes. In ruby, the term monkey patch means any dynamic modification to a class. The ability to change the way classes behave at runtimeaka monkeypatching has been used by many libraries and frameworks to decorate rubys. Strings are a sequence of characters denoted by single or. I think i heard that this may change in a later version of ruby. Monkeypatching is destroying ruby the title of this post is intended to be deliberately provocative, as well as being a nod to steven colberts the people destroying america segments. Due to rubys open classes you can redefine or add functionality to existing classes. In ruby, python, and many other dynamic programming languages, the term monkey patch only refers to dynamic modifications of a class or module at runtime, motivated by the intent to patch existing thirdparty code as a workaround to a bug or feature which does not act as desired.
It shouldnt be that big of a leap to realize that we shouldnt monkey patch our own objects either, and for the same reasons, because its better when. Unify fixnum and bignum into integer ruby issue tracking. I then decided to understand once and for all what fixnums were really made of. They should be seen as a single class integer like flonum i like this very much. Or perhaps you need to monkey patch a class you own. Refinements ruby monkeypatching redifined red panthers. In the numbers chapter, we learned how ruby deals with numbers as fixnum and float objects. For text, whether it be a single letter or a book, ruby has the string class. Why ruby s monkey patching is better than land mines. It always struck me as odd that integer is specialcased like that. In ruby, the term monkey patch was misunderstood to mean any dynamic modification to a class and is often used as a synonym for dynamically modifying any class at runtime.
When we reverse it, the fixnum implementation doesnt understand what to do with a string argument. There are many cases where its fine to monkey patch, but it should definitely not be your first weapon of choice. Ruby has a very beautiful syntax and so it can be tempting to monkey patch a class to turn some ugly method call into something that is more readable. Now every single time you add numbers you end up subtracting them.
Its provocative because i want to get people talking about this issue. Here fixnum has been monkey patched with an function that allows it to work with dates and times. Jun 17, 2015 ruby has a very beautiful syntax and so it can be tempting to monkey patch a class to turn some ugly method call into something that is more readable. I havent, but it comes really useful when testing, to simulate sideeffecting functions or. Monkeypatching is the dangerousyetfrequentlyuseful technique of reopening existing classes to change or add to their behavior. Were in the future, and with github and bundler there is now rarely a need to monkey patch ruby code in your applications monkey patching is the dangerousyetfrequentlyuseful technique of reopening existing classes to change or add to their behavior. Monkeypatching is the technique of swapping functions or methods with others in order to change a module, library or class behavior there are some people with strong opinions about it. Matsumoto has said his primary design goal was to make a language that he himself enjoyed using, by minimizing programmer work and possible confusion. Until you hit weird bugs because a patch changed hash. These are two different concepts programming approaches.
Ruby allows you to both open previously defined classes and redefine any method. In below text, well use term monkey patch for changing behavior of. Why rubys monkey patching is better than land mines. I opened up the irb and fired in simple arithmetic operations. Rubys open classes are powerful but can easily be misused. As i further integrate mojombojekyll into my website pipeline, im finding more of a need to extend it with plugins, no surprises there.
One of the most useful among these specialities is that, in ruby, all classes are mutable. This resource contains a collection of ruby best practices and ruby tips provided by our toptal network members. In general routine work we dont have to worry about whether the number we are dealing with is bignum or fixnum. All users of the monkeypatched class see the same changes. In ruby, a monkey patch mp is any dynamic modification to a class and is often used as a synonym for dynamically modifying any class add new or overwrite existing. Clean monkey patching recently, i realised the importance of clean monkey patching in ruby. Refinements are designed to reduce the impact of monkey patching on other.
We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. The power of monkey patching ruby allows you to both open previously defined classes and redefine any method. Any object id that is odd has the value stored in its upper 31 or 63 bits. The first argument is the object you are patching, and the second argument is the name to use for the refinement if run under ruby 2. Until recently i was under the impression that fixnum objects were like every other objects.
In addition, ruby doesnt treat core classes any differently from userdefined classes, so this gives you a lot of power to completely change the behaviour ruby. This works mostly because most application doesnt have interest on the boundary between fixnum and bignum which vary on platforms. Some implementations have specialcased optimizations for small arrays or hashes e. When used at the top level of your code, its affects are scoped only to the current file from that point on to the end and not in any other code you require from other files. I have added two small helpers for working with numbers but i found that i had to copy paste my method to make it work with both bignum and fixnum. This is an entirely different data object that wont mix with the data objects for numbers. Duck typing a programming concept that is primarily concerned with the methods that can be run on an object rather than the class of the object. In below text, well use term monkey patch for changing behavior of some ruby classes and modules you havent written, whether it be core classes, or standard library ones, or classes of thirdparty library, gem, framework. Sep 11, 2015 i opened up the irb and fired in simple arithmetic operations. How to extend the existing functionality of the fixnum class and add your own methods to it. He has said that he had not applied the principle of least astonishment to the design of ruby, but nevertheless the phrase has come to be closely associated with the ruby programming language. For most ruby developers, therefore, the bignum class is a dark, unfamiliar corner of the language. This can cause unintended sideeffects or breakage of programs. Before insulting a language because its not possible to monkey patch in it.
Monkey patching has been used for a long time for modifying code behavior, but it creates side effects in code elsewhere that ends up affected by the modified code. The above statement asserts that the ruby usage is incorrect but terms evolve, and thats not always a bad thing. Monkey patching fixnum and bignum without duplication stack. This just makes your monkey patches much more surefire.
I dont use a whole lot of ruby in my day to day work, but it is a language that is very quickly growing on me for several reasons. I have added two small helpers for working with numbers but i found that i had to. May 29, 20 how to extend the existing functionality of the fixnum class and add your own methods to it. One of the best, and worst, features of ruby is monkeypatching, extending the languages builtin classes and modules to suit your desires. Ruby journal howtoopenslashoverrideslashmonkeypatchaclassinruby. Sep 28, 2016 in below text, well use term monkey patch for changing behavior of some ruby classes and modules you havent written, whether it be core classes, or standard library ones, or classes of thirdparty library, gem, framework. Monkey patching refers to the ability to modify existing code at runtime. Dave allie monkey patching in ruby isnt always what it seems. As i further integrate mojombojekyll into my website pipeline, im finding more of a need to extend it. For example, lets say you frequently have the need to calculate factorials.
311 515 1251 161 437 893 54 1379 1589 1560 719 272 856 365 209 149 746 163 1302 948 1468 511 448 816 1568 1530 577 202 1293 1017 1472 1188 914 1095 819 206 140 879 348 599