# Undefining a method? **URL:** \ **Category:** Ruby\ **Created:** [April 16, 2007, 2:51am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/undefining-a-method/92098 "2007-04-16T02:51:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![benjohnson](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@benjohnson](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/benjohnson)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 2:51am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/undefining-a-method/92098/1 "2007-04-16T02:51:24Z")
Is it possible to undefine a method. For example: class A def method end end A.undefine\_method(:method) Is this possible? I need to do this because I’m dynamically building methods into a class and it would make everything cleaner. ---
**Author:** ![benjohnson](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@benjohnson](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/benjohnson)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 3:05am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/undefining-a-method/92098/2 "2007-04-16T03:05:28Z")
undef :method irb(main):001:0\> def cow irb(main):002:1\> p “cow” irb(main):003:1\> end =\> nil irb(main):004:0\> cow “cow” =\> nil irb(main):005:0\> undef :cow =\> nil irb(main):006:0\> cow NameError: undefined local variable or method `cow’ for main:Object from (irb):6 irb(main):007:0\> Stephen B. IV ---
**Author:** ![benjohnson](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@benjohnson](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/benjohnson)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 4:06am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/undefining-a-method/92098/3 "2007-04-16T04:06:31Z")
You have two choices: - undef\_method - remove\_method The first prevents any and all calls to the passed in method; the latter removes the method for just the given module which allows calls to be made into the superclass. See the docs: ri undef\_method ---
**Author:** ![benjohnson](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@benjohnson](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/benjohnson)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 4:34am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/undefining-a-method/92098/4 "2007-04-16T04:34:33Z")
Dear All … which one is the most recomended for Install from SVN ? Is it the “branch” or “Trunk” ? And what is “tags” anyway ? Sincerely -bino- ---
**Author:** ![benjohnson](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@benjohnson](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/benjohnson)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 4:39am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/undefining-a-method/92098/5 "2007-04-16T04:39:34Z")
bino\_oetomo wrote: > Dear All … > > which one is the most recomended for Install from SVN ? > Is it the “branch” or “Trunk” ? > > And what is “tags” anyway ? > > Sincerely > -bino- Read here, you might know your answer: [http://eigenclass.org/hiki/bounded+space+instance\_exec](http://eigenclass.org/hiki/bounded+space+instance_exec) ---
**Author:** ![benjohnson](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@benjohnson](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/benjohnson)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2007, 4:58am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/undefining-a-method/92098/6 "2007-04-16T04:58:34Z")
On 4/15/07, bino\_oetomo [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > Dear All … > > which one is the most recomended for Install from SVN ? > Is it the “branch” or “Trunk” ? Typically, you want the code from ‘Trunk’. It’s the main development ‘branch’. > And what is “tags” anyway ? The following is based on Pragmatic Version Control [http://www.pragmaticprogrammer.com/titles/svn/index.html](http://www.pragmaticprogrammer.com/titles/svn/index.html) TAGS: What are they? A way to mark a static copy of set of files. The set of files can come from various versions in your repository. Tags take up very little room since they’re essentially just a set of pointers to existing files/diffs. When should I use them? Use tags to mark releases. They give you a way to rebuild any given release (in case a client deletes it, etc.). You can also use them to check a release out to a branch for bug fixing, or adding new features. Anything else I should know? If you need to edit the files, make a branch. BRANCHES: What are they? As the name implies, it’s a branch from the main ‘Trunk’ dir (where you do your core development). They allow you to run parallel development where you can make minor changes and release the branch, but continue full development on the trunk. When should I use them? Releases, experiments, bug fixes. When you’re about to do a release, make a release branch, make any changes that you don’t want in your ‘trunk’. When you actually publish the code, you should tag it as a release If you’re thinking about making massive changes, you can use a branch for it. If you like the changes, merge them back into the trunk, if not, keep them as a history, or kill them if you like. When you get a bug report, make a new branch for tracking it. Tag it before you do the fix, and tag it again after you’ve done the fix, then merge the fix back into the trunk. Anything else I should know? Naming conventions are key. Here’s what the book suggests: (forgive the formatting, or lack of it, gmail doesn’t use fix width fonts) Event Style Example Type \* Release Branch RB-rel RB-1.0 Branch Releases REL-rel REL-1.0 Tag Bug fix Branch BUG-track BUG-3035 Branch Pre-bug fix PRE-track PRE-3035 Tag Post-bug fix POST-track POST-3035 Tag Experiments TRY-dev-desc TRY-no-db Branch - This is not in the book, it’s just my best guess of what they should be. > Sincerely > -bino- hth