From: Chris Pine <nemo@...>
Date: 2003-04-10T01:57:18+09:00
Subject: Re: Proc Question

A proc is an object.  A method isn't.  Consider a method of zero arguments:

  def fiveSquared
    5 * 5
  end

You can call this method simply by writing `fiveSquared', and Ruby *knows*
you want the method called, because that's the only thing you can do with
methods.

A proc, however, can be assigned to a variable, passed into methods, etc.
In fact, unlike methods, procs are unnamed.  (Am I right about methods
intrinsically having names?)  So, in the following code:

  fiveSquared = proc {5 * 5}

`fiveSquared' is just a variable.

I see your point though.  It is sort of dissatisfying that procs and methods
have such different syntaxes (syntices?).  Same for method parameter list
`(...)' and block parameter list `|...|'.  Still, it's important to realize
that methods and functions (which is what procs are) are *different*, even
if their underlying implementations are similar.  This is an object-oriented
language, after all.

Chris