From: "Saji N. Hameed" <saji@...21.net>
Date: 2008-12-22T16:12:37+09:00
Subject: Re: how to make installing Ruby easier for amateurs

Hi Tom,

It is likely an (K|X)Ubuntu issue than a ruby-gem issue.

saji

* Tom Cloyd <tomcloyd@comcast.net> [2008-12-22 15:15:31 +0900]:

> Greetings!
>
> As an amateur, and intermittent, programmer, I often run right off the  
> edge of what I know. Sometimes this seems utterly needless. Here's one  
> such case:
>
> In the past year I've switched from WindowsXP to Kubuntu Linux. I've had  
> to reload the operating system maybe four times, plus two more due to  
> acquiring a USB hard drive (now my primary drive), and now setting my up  
> Kubuntu to run from a flash drive. I have to reinstall Ruby each time,  
> of course. And....EACH TIME I RUN INTO THE SAME STUPID PROBLEM, as  
> exemplified by my experience yesterday:
>
> I install Ruby 1.8 (yesterday, it was 1.8.7, of course) using either  
> apt-get or the Adept package manager. Then I install Rubygems with  
> apt-get (it's not in Adept's sources, apparently).
>
> Ready to GO? You would think so. Naively, I always do. But it's not to  
> be. Now the madness starts, and this is what I want fixed.
>
> It turns out that Rubygems has a hidden dependency (I think I'm using  
> the right term, but if not, correct me). It isn't automatically  
> installed, and without it, gem installation simply crashes and burns,  
> without useful comment. For an amateur such as me, this isn't helpful,  
> to put it mildly. Here's what happens:
>
> ~$ sudo gem install RedCloth
> Building native extensions.  This could take a while...
> ERROR:  Error installing RedCloth:
>        ERROR: Failed to build gem native extension.
>
> /usr/bin/ruby1.8 extconf.rb install RedCloth
> extconf.rb:1:in `require': no such file to load -- mkmf (LoadError)
>        from extconf.rb:1
>
>
> Gem files will remain installed in /var/lib/gems/1.8/gems/RedCloth-4.1.1  
> for inspection.
> Results logged to  
> /var/lib/gems/1.8/gems/RedCloth-4.1.1/ext/redcloth_scan/gem_make.out
> ubuntu@ubuntu:~$
>
> The solution? Install the ruby1.8-dev library or package or whatever the  
> heck it is. It's in the Adept package manager.
>
> I'm sure many on this list know all about this, but it's not reasonable  
> to expect amateurs like to know such things, and there no sign on the  
> side of the road advertising the fact. It's simply "secret knowledge". I  
> hate secret knowledge.
>
> I've been "had" by this problem at least 6 times. It always happens  
> about 5 weeks past the time I've forgotten about it. I DO have a full  
> life aside from my Ruby adventures.
>
> So...if Rubygems needs this library or whatever, why cannot it check to  
> see that it's present, and then complain if it's not? The error msg it  
> does report means nothing to me at all. Personally, I think the Ruby  
> package from Adept should include this, but that's another story.
>
> Basic idea: don't leave tiger traps lying about when you know that  
> children will be coming down the path.
>
> Is this possible? Am I asking too much?
>
> (Update: the only reason by I ran into this problem at all was that I  
> was reluctant to do on the flash drive OS what I do now regularly:  
> compile and install from source. This is the best idea of all, of  
> course, as documented recently by the fellow who issues the "Zen of  
> Ruby" blog newsletter, since it produces an executable which is about  
> twice as fast as that distributed by the package managers.)
>
> t.
>
> -- 
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Tom Cloyd, MS MA, LMHC - Private practice Psychotherapist
> Bellingham, Washington, U.S.A: (360) 920-1226
> << tc@tomcloyd.com >> (email)
> << TomCloyd.com >> (website) << sleightmind.wordpress.com >> (mental 
> health weblog)
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
>

-- 
Saji N. Hameed

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