From: Eric Hodel <drbrain@...7.net>
Date: 2008-07-01T09:16:28+09:00
Subject: Re: using gems without installing them (like jar files)

On Jun 30, 2008, at 15:37 PM, Suraj Kurapati wrote:
> Eric Hodel wrote:
>> Instead you can do:
>>
>> gem install -i ~/tmp/gems foo
>> GEM_HOME=~/tmp/gems ruby my_foo_using_program.rb
>> rm -r ~/tmp/gems
>
> Awesome!  Did not know about GEM_HOME.
>
>>> If gem files in the load path can be treated as a virtual file  
>>> system
>>> (VFS) then this should be possible, no?
>>
>> Somebody would need to write that code, but it would only work for
>> gems without extensions to be compiled, and would not generate useful
>> documentation.
>
> Those limitations are acceptable for me, as I'm trying to use pure- 
> Ruby
> gems anyway.  I'll try to write the VFS code during this holiday  
> weekend
> and submit a patch next week.

Were I writing it, I would make a Kernel#require overlay that knows  
how to look inside a .gem file for the things it needs.  No need to  
extend File.