From: Pistos Christou <jesusrubsyou.5.pistos@...>
Date: 2006-05-06T03:58:55+09:00
Subject: Extending Core Classes - Best Practices

Hi, all.

I've been following the "Sharp knives and glue" thread.  It's gotten me 
thinking about the things I've already been doing with Ruby.  I wanted 
to ask for opinions on when it is good, bad, acceptable to extend core 
classes like String, Fixnum, Array, Hash.

To be a bit more concrete: Would it be okay to tack on "is?" and "has?" 
type methods?  Contrived example:

class String
    VOGON_VOCABULARY = [
        'freddled', 'gruntbuggly', 'micturations', 'plurdled',
        'gabbleblotchits', 'lurgid', 'groop', 'foonting',
        'turlingdromes', 'hooptiously', 'drangle', 'bindlewurdles',
        'gobberwarts', 'blurglecruncheon',
    ]

    VOGON_REGEXP = /#{VOGON_VOCABULARY.join('|')}/i

    def vogon?
        ( VOGON_REGEXP =~ self ).respond_to? '>'
    end
end

Pistos

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