What are closures and procs in Ruby, and how do they affect performance?

What are closures and procs in Ruby, and how do they affect performance?

Closures in Ruby are blocks of code that can capture the surrounding context. Procs are objects that encapsulate these blocks. They can improve performance by reducing the need for method calls, but excessive use can lead to memory bloat.

Can you give me an example of a proc in Ruby?

Sure! Here's a simple example:

my_proc = Proc.new { |x| x * 2 }
puts my_proc.call(5)  # Output: 10

This proc takes a number and doubles it.

How do closures differ from procs?

Closures are a broader concept that includes procs, but they specifically refer to blocks of code that can access variables from their surrounding scope. Procs are a specific implementation of closures in Ruby.

Are there any performance drawbacks to using procs?

Yes, while procs can enhance performance by reducing method calls, they can also lead to increased memory usage if not managed properly, especially if they capture large contexts.