[jablan]

> my_method = Kernel.method(:puts)

That's exactly what being first-class is not. You tell Kernel to wrap you a method called puts into an object of class Method, rather than assigning a method to a variable. You don't have to look further than JS for a counterexample.

[burlesona]

Ruby has two kinds of functions. Methods are functions attached to objects. Lambdas are functions that are not. Ruby lambdas are exactly like javascript arrow functions, or python functions.

There's a _reason_ for the difference, since it determines the implicit self, which is a meaningful part of how Ruby works. Because that difference is meaningful it is reflected in the syntax. `lambda`, or the shorthand `->` creates a function not attached to an object, and `def` creates a function and attaches it to the calling context (making it a method).

Perhaps you don't like this, that's fine. But to say "nope I want my methods and functions to be interchangeable and not to be called lambdas" is purely a subjective argument.

Objectively, Ruby has first-class functions that can be assigned to variables and passes around and returned from other function calls etc etc. They're just called lambdas.

[jonnytran]

This is clearly a misunderstanding of what a first-class function is. If it doesn't meet your criteria in the colloquial sense of "first-class", that's one thing. But in computer science and programming in general, "first-class function" has a very specific meaning [1], and Ruby absolutely meets the criteria.

The other bit of confusion is that the actual syntax in Ruby optimizes for the common case, which is calling methods. Yehuda Katz wrote a good article explaining this [2]. Among other things, it allows you to create very concise DSLs in Ruby that would never be quite as clean in Python.

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-class_function

2: https://yehudakatz.com/2010/02/21/ruby-is-not-a-callable-ori...