Question

I’d like to write a package for Ruby and make it available as a gem.
What are the tools, steps and pitfalls ?
Are there any good tutorials, screencasts, etc., which helped you learning how to do it ?

Answer 1

Rubygems.org’s Guides is one of the best resources for writing your own gem.

If you’re using Bundler in your app, you might want to look at Ryan Bigg’s guide to Developing a RubyGem using Bundler and the Railscast on creating gems with Bundler.

If you’re interested in tools to help you write gems:

• Jeweler – Opinionated tool for creating and managing Rubygem projects. There’s also a Gemcutter and Jeweler Railscast.
• Hoe – From the guys at seattlrb.
• gem-this adds a bunch of helpful rake tasks.

Some tutorials/guides:

• Creating Your First Gem
• Using bundler and rvm to build a rubygem – Using bundler and rvm to create a gem
• Gem Packaging: Best Practices
• Ruby Gem Recipe – Intro guide to creating a gem using bundler and jeweler
• How to build a ruby gem and host it on gemcutter – tutorial using echoe and gemcutter
• The Truth About Gemspecs – goes over gemspecs and tips for dealing with them
• Packaging with RubyGems – a quickstart guide for Jeweler
• gem that – James Adam – reviews tools that help build gems (hoe, newgem, echoe, gemhub, jeweler, gem this)
• Using Gemcutter’s Api from the Commandline
• New Gem with Bundler – Sample Rakefile – Useful rakefile for deploying and publishing a gem
• Let’s Write a Gem
• How To Build A Ruby Gem With Bundler, Test-Driven Development, Travis CI And Coveralls, Oh My!