David A. Black said...
> Hi --
> 
> On Sun, 28 Dec 2008, Yaser Sulaiman wrote:
> 
> > According to Wikipedia, a monkey patch[1] is:
> >
> >> a way to extend or modify the runtime code of dynamic languages [...]
> >> without altering the original source code.
> >
> > The following statement from the same entry confused me:
> >
> >> 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.
> >
> > I would like to know the exact meaning of monkey patching in Ruby.
> 
> There's no exact meaning. Some people use it to mean re-opening core
> classes; some people use it to mean re-opening core classes in an
> incompetent, unsafe manner; some people use it as a way of indicating
> that any time you re-open a core class, you shouldn't (which is a
> well-intentioned but reductive position); some people use it to mean
> re-opening non-core classes; and so on.

My brain is fuddled today recovering from flu, but what do you mean by 
"reopening"?

-- 
Cheers,
Marc