Understanding Higher-Order Functions and Implementing the Map Method in Ruby

The article explains the concept of higher-order functions and their importance in functional programming. It focuses on Ruby's support for higher-order functions through blocks, procs, and lambdas. The author addresses the confusion that new programmers may have regarding when to use higher-order functions and how anonymous functions differ from regular functions. To provide a clear explanation, the article demonstrates the implementation of the map method from scratch in Ruby. The map method is used to transform elements in a list based on a given operation. The article shows examples of using the map method to extract email addresses from a list of subscribers and to retrieve prices from a list of products. By using lambdas or procs, the article demonstrates how to generalize the code and remove duplication. This article is a valuable resource for developers looking to understand higher-order functions and their practical applications in Ruby.