Explain ruby protected, private and public methods

private_public_protected_example.rb

 #dwarf.rb
class Dwarf
  include Comparable

  def initialize(name, age, beard_strength)
    @name           = name
    @age            = age
    @beard_strength = beard_strength
  end

  attr_reader :name, :age, :beard_strength
  public    :name
  private   :age
  protected :beard_strength

  # Comparable module will use this comparison method for >, <, ==, etc.
  def <=>(other_dwarf)
    # One dwarf is allowed to call this method on another
    beard_strength <=> other_dwarf.beard_strength
  end

  def greet
    "Lo, I am #{name}, and have mined these #{age} years.\
       My beard is #{beard_strength} strong!"
  end

  def blurt
    # Not allowed to do this: private methods can't have an explicit receiver
    "My age is #{self.age}!"
  end
end
#to launch interactive ruby at moment to execute this file
require 'irb'; IRB.start

you_can_do.rb

gloin = Dwarf.new('Gloin', 253, 7)
gimli = Dwarf.new('Gimli', 62,  9)

gloin > gimli         # false
gimli > gloin         # true

gimli.name            # 'Gimli'
gimli.age             # NoMethodError: private method `age'
                         called for #<Dwarf:0x007ff552140128>

gimli.beard_strength # NoMethodError: protected method `beard_strength'
                        called for #<Dwarf:0x007ff552140128>

gimli.greet          # "Lo, I am Gimli, and have mined these 62 years.\
                           My beard is 9 strong!"

gimli.blurt          # private method `age' called for #<Dwarf:0x007ff552140128>

Private methods can be called only implicitly. They cannot be called by explicit receivers like an object or the keyword self. For the same reason, private methods cannot be called outside the hierarchy of the defining class.

if a method is protected in Ruby, then it can be called implicitly by both the defining class and its subclasses. Additionally they can also be called by an explicit receiver as long as the receiver is self or of same class as that of self