From: Joe Holt <joe07734@...>
Date: 2007-11-05T14:07:21+09:00
Subject: def blah do |x| -- alternate method definition syntax

Hi all,

This came up in a discussion about Ruby with a friend who is learning...

Why aren't method definitions more like blocks? Perhaps it's easier to  
explain with some examples. Consider the method blah:

def blah(x)
	...
end

And this proc:

lambda do |x|
	...
end

Friend wondered why a method definition couldn't be like this:

def blah do |x|
	...
end

And I didn't have a good answer, except that "it just is." Maybe I  
could have gone into the semantic difference between methods and  
lambda procs, but does semantic difference necessitate syntactic  
difference?

I tried to simulate this like so:

blah = lambda do |x|
	...
end

Which I realize is going down a different path, but still. Now I wish  
I could do this:

blah(5)

But I can't. I have to blah.call.

I'm not complaining at all. This isn't bait. It's just me loving Ruby  
and wondering aloud. Any opinions?

Joe