The map method takes an enumerable object and a block, and runs the block for each element, outputting each returned value from the block (the original object is unchanged unless you use map!):
[1, 2, 3].map { |n| n * n } #=> [1, 4, 9]
Array and Range are enumerable types. map with a block returns an Array. map! mutates the original array.
Where is this helpful, and what is the difference between map! and each? Here is an example:
names = ['danil', 'edmund']
# here we map one array to another, convert each element by some rule
names.map! {|name| name.capitalize } # now names contains ['Danil', 'Edmund']
names.each { |name| puts name + ' is a programmer' } # here we just do something with each element
The output:
Danil is a programmer Edmund is a programmer