What is lexical scope in Ruby?

Can you explain what lexical scope means in Ruby?

Sure! Lexical scope in Ruby refers to the visibility of variables based on their location within the source code. It determines which variables are accessible in different parts of the code.

How does it differ from dynamic scope?

In contrast to lexical scope, dynamic scope determines variable accessibility based on the call stack at runtime. Ruby uses lexical scope, meaning the scope is determined at the time of writing the code.

Can you give me an example of lexical scope in Ruby?

Absolutely! Here's a simple example:

x = 10

def my_method
  puts x # This will raise an error because x is not accessible here.
end

my_method

In this case, x is not accessible inside my_method due to lexical scoping.

What happens if I define a variable inside a method?

If you define a variable inside a method, it will only be accessible within that method. For example:

def my_method
  y = 20
  puts y
end

my_method # This will print 20
puts y # This will raise an error because y is not accessible here.