From: James Moore <banshee@...>
Date: 2006-07-14T09:40:46+09:00
Subject: Re: Preferred monkeypatching technique

> -----Original Message-----
> You just described subclasses:
> 
> class BigNozzleFiretruck < Firetruck
> 
>    def put_out_fire(options = {})
>      options = options.merge :nozzle => :big
>      super options
>    end
> 
> end

Sounded to me that perhaps he was talking about the problems that I normally
associate with dependency injection* - he's trying to get an existing class
to create an object of a new class, rather than the thing that it normally
uses.  In this case, I think what he's saying is that the existing class is
going to instantiate a Firetruck; having BigNozzleFiretruck exist as a
possibility of an object that could be instantiated doesn't address the
whole problem.

Do articles like
http://onestepback.org/index.cgi/Tech/Ruby/DependencyInjectionInRuby.rdoc
address the sort of thing you're talking about, Tom?

 - James Moore

* A phrase that, unfortunately, I use with wild abandon and less meaning
than perhaps I should.