Difference between “and” and && in Ruby?

Question

What is the difference between the && and and operators in Ruby?

Answer 1

The practical difference is binding strength, which can lead to peculiar behavior if you're not prepared for it:

foo = :foo
bar = nil

a = foo and bar
# => nil
a
# => :foo

a = foo && bar
# => nil
a
# => nil

a = (foo and bar)
# => nil
a
# => nil

(a = foo) && bar
# => nil
a
# => :foo

The same thing works for || and or.