[ruby-core:26660] [ANN] RubyInstaller Release Candidate 1 - 1.8 and 1.9 releases signed!

I'm pleased to announce the first Release Candidate of the latest
RubyInstaller packages.

For those not already familiar with RubyInstaller, these versions
continue the great work started with the original One-Click Installers
by providing both 1.8 and 1.9 versions of MRI Ruby for Windows.

RubyInstaller now uses a different compilation tool than the legacy
One-Click Installers. As a result, when combined with our optional
Development Kit, it is now possible to install RubyGems that, until
today, were not readily or easily available to Windows users.

This release also focuses on improving the installation process and
ensuring a much more pleasant experience for existing and new users of
Ruby on Windows.

While we think we've succeeded in providing a solid, core Ruby platform
that can be easily expanded to meet your needs, we'd also like to hear
more as to what you'd like from the next RubyInstaller. Please continue
reading for more details on how to give us feedback.

=3D Before installing

If you're upgrading from Preview2 or Preview1, please uninstall these
versions before proceeding. Don't worry, any gems that you installed or
compiled since installing Preview1/Preview2 will not be removed.

Since the new RubyInstaller uses a different compiler, we highly advise
that you avoid attempting to install over any previous One-Click Installer
installation, or any other variant versions (InstantRails, BitNami, etc.)

We recommend that you backup your previous installation, take note of the
details, your installed gem list, etc and proceed to completely uninstall
any legacy installations.

=3D Getting the installers and the packages

As usual, we distribute the installer and binary packages on our
project page at RubyForge. Please download from RubyForge the RubyInstaller
version that best suits your needs:

http://rubyforge.org/frs/?group_id=3D167

The following are the MD5 signatures of each component:

Installers:

64d79c8fdce31af79836ff26c688970b *rubyinstaller-1.8.6-p383-rc1.exe
a3c32f5f6c50e043050fed80f6a54ba9 *rubyinstaller-1.9.1-p243-rc1.exe

Binary Packages:

aeab25259dfc95e4868b16ef31b42b45 *ruby-1.8.6-p383-i386-mingw32-rc1.7z
9b03eeea0a066cbc57343aac944b709e *ruby-1.9.1-p243-i386-mingw32-rc1.7z

CHM Help files:

0651cbe998a0770a736a7b29353c8a4c *ruby-1.8.6-p383-doc-chm-rc1.7z
9a2950d869ebd15fbea96c9ee67ee9da *ruby-1.9.1-p243-doc-chm-rc1.7z


Installers are meant for people with no previous or existing installations.

Installers are tested and signed by me, Luis Lavena, using a digital
certificate. The signed installers do not require administrative privileges=
,
and can be installed by users with limited system privileges.

Packages are meant for advanced users who want to configure the installatio=
n
to fit their needs. For example, installing multiple Ruby versions.

The CHM Help files provide access to both Core and Standard Library to
simplify search.
These files are already integrated in the installers, so the separate
downloads are for convenience purposes.

=3D What was improved in this version?

* Installers now optionally offer adjustment to PATH and file
associations to make it easier to execute Ruby and Ruby scripts.
* Bundles OpenSSL 0.9.8k in a cooperative mode that will not interfere
with other OpenSSL installations present in your system.
* Improved Installer GUI to reduce click (only 5 clicks with default option=
s).

=3D In case of problems, where should I go?

We recommend that you first check our FAQ at the Wiki:

http://wiki.github.com/oneclick/rubyinstaller/faq

And in case these resources do not answer your questions, please join
us at our Google Group:

http://groups.google.com/group/rubyinstaller

...where you will find friendly people to help you resolve your issues.

=3D What's next?

To reach this point, we walked a long and winding path. We want to satisfy
as much as possible our users needs and wishes for using the RubyInstaller
in different scenarios.

To help us prioritize our next steps, we would like to hear back from you
on the capabilities of the RubyInstaller you'd most like enhanced.

For example, which should we include or consider immediately after RC1:

* Shall we include FFI to simplify creation of scripts that work with
native binaries?
* Shall we focus on simplify the installation of the Development Kit?
* Shall we expand our build recipes to cover other Ruby extensions?
* Others?

Please use the following poll to tell us what you think.  If you have a
really cool idea that doesn't fit into the poll, please send us a note
at our Google Group.

http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/2233856/

http://groups.google.com/group/rubyinstaller

=3D Bug reports

We all know there is no bug free software, so we ask that you communicate
your frustrations in a positive way and report any bugs you have found
so that we work on fixing them :-)

Please report bugs at RubyForge:

http://rubyforge.org/tracker/?atid=3D715&group_id=3D167&func=3Dbrowse

For native C-based RubyGem compatibility, you can also read our Gem
List at the Wiki:

http://wiki.github.com/oneclick/rubyinstaller/gem-list

=3D Contributing

We always love when someone wants to contribute. We have a flexible
contribution policy: first patch merged gets you commit rights.

Feel free to read more about how you can contribute the project at the wiki=
:

http://wiki.github.com/oneclick/rubyinstaller/how-to-contribute

=3D Thanks

Last, but certainly not least, would like to thank you the following kind h=
uman
beings who made this release possible:

- Alexey Borzenkov
- Bosko Ivanisevic
- deepj
- Gordon Thiesfeld
- Jon Maken
- Park Heesob
- Rodolfo Budeguer

And many others!

http://github.com/oneclick/rubyinstaller/blob/master/CONTRIBUTORS

Thank you!
--=20
Luis Lavena
AREA 17
-
Perfection in design is achieved not when there is nothing more to add,
but rather when there is nothing more to take away.
Antoine de Saint-Exup=E9ry