Ruby Language Gem Creation/Management Gemspec Files
Example
Each gem has a file in the format of <gem name>.gemspec which contains metadata about the gem and it's files. The format of a gemspec is as follows:
Gem::Specification.new do |s|
# Details about gem. They are added in the format:
s.<detail name> = <detail value>
end
The fields required by RubyGems are:
Either author = string or authors = array
Use author = if there is only one author, and authors = when there are multiple. For authors= use an array which lists the authors names.
files = array
Here array is a list of all the files in the gem. This can also be used with the Dir[] function, for example if all your files are in the /lib/ directory, then you can use files = Dir["/lib/"].
name = string
Here string is just the name of your gem. Rubygems recommends a few rules you should follow when naming your gem.
- Use underscores, NO SPACES
- Use only lowercase letters
- Use hypens for gem extension (e.g. if your gem is named
examplefor an extension you would name itexample-extension) so that when then extension is required it can be required asrequire "example/extension".
RubyGems also adds "If you publish a gem on rubygems.org it may be removed if the name is objectionable, violates intellectual property or the contents of the gem meet these criteria. You can report such a gem on the RubyGems Support site."
platform=
I don't know
require_paths=
I don't know
summary= string
String is a summery of the gems purpose and anything that you would like to share about the gem.
version= string
The current version number of the gem.
The recommended fields are:
email = string
An email address that will be associated with the gem.
homepage= string
The website where the gem lives.
Either license= or licenses=
I don't know
