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Everything about Monkey patch

Technique to dynamically modify runtime code

Monkey patch is the act of dynamically modifying the runtime code of a dynamic programming language, and it is the information (data/code) used to modify the runtime code. Monkey patching adds or replaces programming aspects like methods, classes, attributes, and functions in memory. Modifying the runtime code allows for modifying the behavior of third-party software without maintaining a modified version of the source code. Wikipedia →

🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path

  1. Read the overview: Monkey patchA 5-minute orientation
  2. Pick up a classic book: The World Without UsThe most-reprinted book on the subject
  3. Read the landmark paper: Patch-like termination of thalamic fibers in the putamen of the rhesus monkey: an autoradiographic studyCited 95 times
  4. Go sideways: NoScriptA closely related topic
  5. Go sideways: SpiderMonkeyA closely related topic

📖 Definitions

Noun A patch which alters the behaviour of a program by forcibly overriding aspects of the original code at runtime.

Verb To alter the behaviour of a program by forcibly overriding aspects of the original code at runtime.

🗂️ The subject at a glance

  1. Pitfalls
  2. Examples

🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)

📚 Books worth reading

Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.

🔗 Related topics