[ruby-talk:6473] Dr. Dobb's Python-URL! ... (Nov 20) ... "Ruby and Python" thread

Grant Edwards wrote:
 
>     A loooong thread on "Ruby and Python" includes highlights
>     which not only sagely contrast those two, but also examine
>     several interesting tangents
>         http://deja.com/=dnc/viewthread.xp?AN=694317151

I had a couple of questions about the following item, wherein Just van 
Rossum wrote:

> One odd thing I came across: while in Ruby apparently everything is an
> instance (no difference between types and classes) I read somewhere that
> functions and methods are _not_ first class citizens.

Is this (literally) correct, or is this correct subject to some important 
but unstated qualifications? And if so, was there a good (for some 
purposes) trade-off involved? 

I think the original reference for ("... I read somewhere ...") was Maya 
Stodte's "Ruby: a new language; Introducing the latest open source gem 
from Japan" (http://www-4.ibm.com/software/developer/library/ruby.html#4):

# How does Ruby compare to Perl and Python? [Bold heading.]
# ...
# Ruby's functions and methods, unlike Python's, are not first class 
objects.
# ...

Conrad Schneiker
(This note is unofficial and subject to improvement without notice.)