Monkey patching in JavaScript

Monkey patching in JavaScript

When working on a project, we often use libraries that implement methods that aren’t built-in in the programming language in use but we need. These libraries don’t cover all the possible methods, so they might lack one or more crucial features we need. When this happens, we have two choices: the first is to create our own module that implements the methods we need, the second is to add those methods to the library itself or the built-in classes of the language. The latter is known as Monkey patching.

In this article, we’ll look at what Monkey patching is, what pros and cons it has, and also a couple of examples that employ this technique.

The revolution of 3-spaces code indentation

The revolution of 3-spaces code indentation

Almost 10 years have passed since that moment and I’ve changed my conventions quite a lot. But there is one thing that isn’t changed and I’m still firmly advocating: the use of 3 spaces to indent the code. Now, I know that some of you might have already labeled me as crazy, but when it comes to code conventions there isn’t a truth or a way better than other. It’s all about tastes.

Despite the catchy title, I don’t think I’m revolutionizing code indentations with my proposal. What I know for sure is that 3 spaces aren’t used a lot to indent code. This is proved by the fact that none of the in-browser developer tools gives you the option to set 3 spaces. They all give you the choice between 2 and 4 spaces, and tabs (or 8 spaces). I don’t know if this post will convince someone to change hisĀ conventionĀ or at least to give 3-spaces code indentation a try, but I still want to share my opinion.