Alias Methods Help

Is there anyway to alias a method while overwriting a line or two? For example, let's say I want to re-define something like:

Code: [Select]

@viewport_a.visible = true # I want to re-define this line to @viewport_a.visible = false
Random Junk that I won't change


Is there any way that I can alter just that line without having to redefine the whole method? I know I could just use:

Code: [Select]

alias oldmethod newmethod
def oldmethod
  newmethod
  @viewport_a.visible = false
end


But @viewport_a would be visible for a fraction of a second, which is kinda irritating. So, do I just have to redefine the whole method? Or is there another way?

It would only be visible for a fraction of a second if the method you are aliasing updates the Graphics module. Otherwise it would be fine.

To answer your question though, there is no way to alias and overwrite only a particular line. What you can do, however, is alias the visible= method of the Viewport class. It's not exactly finesse, and you would obviously need to communicate when it should or shouldn't work, but it's doable and I've done it before. Basically, in the class you are changing, you would put in an accessor variable which I would call "xyz_visible_override" or whatever, then in your alias of the method, you would first turn on the override, then call the original method, then turn off the override.

It's not very fancy but it might do the trick if it's actually necessary and it's not more trouble than it's worth. Like I said, however, the viewport would only be visible for a fraction of a second if the Graphics.update method is called in the old method. Otherwise, it's safe enough just to turn the visible switch to false after the old method has run.