Difference between "and" and && in Ruby?

Question

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

Answer 1

&& and || are used for boolean logic. and and or are used for control flow.

Boolean logic example:

valentines_day = month == 2 && day == 14

is_february = num_days == 28 || num_days == 29

Control flow example:

def say_something(error)

print "something" and log("it was successful")

end

def do_some_command

some_command or raise "there was an error"

end

and and or are rarely used in Ruby and you can get by with never using them if you wish.

For a fuller explanation, see Avdi Grimm's video on the subject: https://avdi.codes/how-to-use-rubys-english-andor-operators-without-going-nuts/