What are the differences between lambdas and procs in Ruby on Rails?

What are the differences between lambdas and procs in Ruby on Rails?

Lambdas and procs are both closures in Ruby, but they have key differences in behavior. Lambdas check the number of arguments, while procs do not. Additionally, lambdas return control to the calling method, whereas procs return from the enclosing method.

Can you give me an example of when to use a lambda instead of a proc?

Sure! Use a lambda when you need strict argument checking, like in a method that requires a specific number of parameters. For example, if you have a method that takes a lambda as an argument, it will raise an error if the wrong number of arguments is passed.

What about performance? Is one faster than the other?

In general, the performance difference between lambdas and procs is negligible for most applications. However, lambdas may have a slight overhead due to argument checking. It's best to choose based on functionality rather than performance.

Are there any best practices for using lambdas and procs in Rails?

Yes! Use lambdas for callbacks and event handling where argument validation is crucial. Procs are great for simpler, reusable code blocks where you don't need strict argument checks.