What does to_proc method mean?

Question

I am learning rails and following this thread. I am stuck with the to_proc method. I consider symbols only as alternatives to strings (they are like strings but

Answer 1

For me the clearest explanation is seeing a simple implementation of it. Here's what it might look like if I were reimplementing Symbol#to_proc:

class Symbol  # reopen Symbol class to reimplement to_proc method
  def to_proc
    ->(object) { object.send(self) }
  end
end

my_lambda = :to_s.to_proc

puts my_lambda.(1)  # prints '1'; .() does the same thing as .call()
puts my_lambda.(1).class  # prints 'String'

puts [4,5,6].map(&:to_s)  # prints "4\n5\n6\n"
puts [4,5,6].map(&:to_s).first.class  # prints 'String'