https://github.com/lsiden/overider

Over-ride ruby class methods without using 'alias'
https://github.com/lsiden/overider

Last synced: about 2 months ago
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Over-ride ruby class methods without using 'alias'

• Host: GitHub
• URL: https://github.com/lsiden/overider
• Owner: lsiden
• Created: 2011-12-23T01:47:28.000Z (about 13 years ago)
• Default Branch: master
• Last Pushed: 2011-12-23T15:24:29.000Z (about 13 years ago)
• Last Synced: 2024-03-15T03:55:06.383Z (10 months ago)
• Language: Ruby
• Homepage:
• Size: 97.7 KB
• Stars: 1
• Watchers: 1
• Forks: 0
• Open Issues: 0
• Metadata Files:
  • Readme: README.mkd

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README

        
# Overider

## Background

Despite Ruby's clean design and flexibility, the language has no native feature

that allows one to over-ride a method without irrevocably losing the original binding

of the method name.

`alias` is a well-worn idiom that circumvents this limitation,

but blogger Jay Fields wrote an [interesting post](http://blog.jayfields.com/2006/12/ruby-alias-method-alternative.html)

that reminds us that `alias` comes with some less-than-desireable side-effects

that may not be significant in small scripts and projects 

but may become a problem for larger projects.

In the [same post](http://blog.jayfields.com/2006/12/ruby-alias-method-alternative.html),

Jay offered an interesting alternative to `alias`,

using instead `Module#instance_method` and `Module#define_method`.

This is much better, but I'm not quite satisfied.

While obvious enough to experienced Ruby-hands,

people who are newer to Ruby (like me!)

might have trouble remembering the syntax of `x = self.instance_method(:x)`

and `x.bind(self).call` every time they need to use this.

What I'd really like is a way to override defined methods that's a no-brainer.

So I thought about how I could take Jay's example one step further 

and after some trial and lots of error came up with this.

Thanks and credit go to [Jay Fields](http://blog.jayfields.com/) for his post.

## Description

A mix-in module that allows for super-clean method over-riding without resorting to `alias` 

or making unbound methods visible.

## Synopsis

    class A

      def hello

        "hello"

      end

    end

    # Later, I want to overide class A methods

    class A

      extend Overider

      overide (:hello) do |*a|

        overiden(*a) + " overide"

      end

    end

    puts A.new.hello # ==> "hello overide"

## See also

  * [Ruby: Alias method alternative, Jay Fields](http://blog.jayfields.com/2006/12/ruby-alias-method-alternative.html)

  * 

## LICENSE

* [Ruby License](http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/LICENSE.txt)

* 
overider.gem by Lawrence Siden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at github.com.