What is the difference between ruby send and ruby public_send method?

I am very curious to know what the difference is between send and public_send. E.g.:

class Klass def hello(*args) "Hello " + args.join(' ') end end k = Klass.new k.send :hello, "gentle", "readers" #=> "Hello gentle readers" k.public_send :hello, "gentle", "readers" #=> "Hello gentle readers" 

Can someone please explain the difference?

1 Answer

Unlike send, public_send calls public methods only.

Example:

class Klass private def private_method puts "Hello" end end k = Klass.new k.send(:private_method) => "Hello" k.public_send(:private_method) => `public_send': private method `private_method' called for #<Klass:0x007f5fd7159a80> (NoMethodError)