From: Charles Comstock <cc1@...>
Date: 2004-07-10T19:57:30+09:00
Subject: Re: [ANN]: RubyGems 0.7.0 Released

Jim Weirich wrote:
> 
> RubyGems works by manipulating the list of directories searched for 
> required files.  By managing this list, rubygems allows multiple 
> versions of a library stored on a system (although only one version at a 
> time can be used in a single ruby program).
> 
> In order for gems to be loaded, the software to manage the directory 
> list and resolve version conflicts must be available and in the standard 
> non-gem location.  This bootstrap code can't be a gem, because it is 
> used to locate a gem.
> 
> It is conceivable that the non-bootstrap code could be made into a gem. 
>  This would be mainly the "gem" command itself.  But currently, there is 
> a fair degree of coupling between the bootstrap and non-bootstrap 
> portions of the code.  Being able to update the "gem" command, but not 
> its supporting library would be of marginal value at the moment.  If 
> this changes in the future, then anything is possible.
> 

That's really unfortunate.  I guess I don't follow why you can't have 2 
or 3 basic pointer files that load in either gem, or the library and 
still point into your gem repository.  I really think the format 
framework must be limited if it's not easy to boostrap itself.  I 
consider it a very important feature for rubygems to take off well. 
Maybe it's dreaming but it would be awesome if you could get it so good 
that it could update the source version of ruby as well, assuming of 
course a reasonably useful version was already installed.  I like the 
concept of the gem, but it definitely seems like it would prove it's 
worth as a package manager if it was capable of installing itself.  That 
gives the impression it could install anything if necessary, and that to 
me means the framework is a success.  When you could bridge off and use 
it as a package manager for the associated binaries a library links 
against, or you could trampoline ontop of it to act as the library 
updating agent for a distributed processing system.  If a framework 
powerful enough then it makes itself a potential dependency for other 
projects, then that is what makes it part of the standard install and a 
proven useful product.  Besides of course, how much it simplifies 
administration if it boostraps itself.

	Charles Comstock