&Blocks, &Procs, &Lambdas

Closures are technique for implementing lexical scoping.[1] They encapsulate functions, variables, and an environment. Blocks, Procs, and Lambdas are all examples of closures in Ruby.

Blocks

Blocks are chunks of code that respond to a yield statement. You’ve definitely used Blocks before. Probably used one this morning. Most enumerator methods, like each,map, and reduce, accept a block as an argument.

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['Rocko','Spunky','Heffer','Filburt'].each do |name|
  puts name
end

#=> Rocko!
#=> Spunky!
#=> Heffer!
#=> Filburt!

All the code between the do and end sandwich is a Block. Behind the scenes the each enumerator method is using a yield statement to pass the string into the Block we provided. If you’ve ever seen the error: no block given (yield) (LocalJumpError) you’ve encountered a method that expected a block but did not receive it. A monkey-patched example reveals the internals of how methods that expect a Block work:

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class Array
  def monkey_each
    self.each do |string|
      yield(string)
    end
  end
end

['Rocko','Spunky','Heffer','Filburt'].monkey_each do |name|
  puts "#{name}!"
end

#=> Rocko!
#=> Spunky!
#=> Heffer!
#=> Filburt!

Everybody uses Blocks. They are fundamental building_blocks_ of Ruby programing.

Procs

Procs (short for “procedures”) are like Blocks with names. Formally, Procs are “anonymous functions” that can be represented as an object. Procs can be saved with a variable and reused throughout the program.[2] Unlike Blocks, Procs are actual objects constructed through use of the Proc class.

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square_proc = Proc.new do |num|
  puts num**2
end

However, Procs respond to .call instead of yield.

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class Array
  def each_with_proc(proc)
    self.each do |number|
      proc.call(number)
    end
  end
end

[2,3,4,5].each_with_proc(bang_proc)

#=> 4
#=> 9
#=> 16
#=> 25

Procs help your programs stay DRY. If you catch yourself using the same Block logic repeatedly within your application then store that logic in Proc to avoid repetition.

Lambdas

Lambdas are basically strict Procs with different return behavior. Both Lambdas and Procs are instances of the Proc class and both act like “anonymous functions”, however, Lambdas respect “arity” (a fancy way of saying that they will break if given an incorrect number of arguments, just like methods).

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square_lambda = lambda { |num| puts num**2 }

square_lambda.call(16)    #=> 256
square_proc.call(16,4)    #=> 256
square_lambda.call(16,4)  #=> wrong number of arguments (2 for 1) (ArgumentError)

Alternatively, Lambdas can be created in what may be the most bad-ass name for obscure syntax — “stabby lambda”:

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cube_lambda = ->(num){ puts num**3 }

cube_lambda.call(9)     #=> 729

Lambdas and Procs also handle return statements differently. Procs interpret the return within the scope that called the proc. Lambdas, on the other hand, interpret the return within the scope of the lambda (exactly the same way a method would handle a return). This is might seem like an esoteric difference but can easily cause some problems.[3]

Ultimately, choosing between Lambdas and Procs really depends on preference. Both are perfect for encapsulating and storing code.

Conclusion

References & Notes