Question

def a_method
  p "in distress"
end

alias :hero :a_method
def a_method
  hero
  p "Saved by the hero"
end

Here is a method in distress and it has been saved by a hero. But someone else doesn’t like how the story ends and decides to overwrite what the hero did.

alias :nemesis ?
def ?
   #which method to call?
   p "Captured by the nemesis"
end

Is it possible for the nemesis to overwrite what the hero did and have the final outcome be

"in distress"
"Captured by the nemesis"

Answer 1

It seems like this would work without any more aliasing:

def a_method
  hero
  p "Captured by the nemesis"
end

There isn’t any way for the nemesis to “unalias” and determine the old value of :a_method before the hero came along, however. The fact that Ruby doesn’t preserve history like that is the reason you need aliases in such override situations in the first place.