From: Gavin Sinclair <gsinclair@...>
Date: 2004-06-01T09:05:30+09:00
Subject: Re: [ANN] RMagick available on Windows

> Gavin Sinclair wrote:
>
>>>Didn't MS recently make their VS7 compiler available for free?
>>> Wouldn't it be possible to have RubyGems download the MS compiler (if
>>> it were not already present) and build the software from source?
>>>
>>>
>>
>>That sounds like it's going a bit far :)
>>
> I don't really see why.  In unix-based systems the compiler is taken for
>  granted.  Many current ruby modules require compilation to work and
> just  assume that it's there.  Hence, the average windows user is stuck
> if a  module he wants requires compilation.  He can compile manually,
> but this  is too tedious or difficult for a lot of people.  The RubyGems
> paradigm  sort of solves the problem but most windows-compatible gems
> seem to only  go so far as to provide occasional binary releases.

I certainly agree that the ability to compile things on Windows is
important.  I just don't think RubyGems should provide the compiler.

> Making an installed  compiler one of the RubyGems dependencies seems
> like a great way to make  ruby programming more seamless on windows.
> Alternatively, it might be a  nice option to add to the ruby windows
> installer.

Not a bad idea if it's permissible and not too large.

Gavin