[DRE-maint] Bug#448639: rubygems: please install gems in /usr/local/lib/gems/1.8

[Lucas Nussbaum]

On 03/11/07 at 14:07 +0900, Daigo Moriwaki wrote:
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
> 
> severity 448639 wishlist
> tags 448639 + wontfix
> thanks
> 
> Hi Lucas,
> 
> Lucas Nussbaum wrote:
> > I thought a lot about the gem issues. I think that we should do the
> > following:
> > 
> > install gems in /usr/local/lib/ruby/gems/1.8 (instead of
> > /var/lib/gems/1.8), and put binaries in /usr/local/bin (instead of
> > /usr/bin).
> > 
> > provide an option to install gems in /usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8. This could
> > be used by gem packaged as debian packages. (their binaries would then
> > go to /usr/bin)
> > 
> > What was the reason to install gems to /var/lib/gems in the first place?
> 
> /usr/lib is a preserved directory for Debian system where only official Debian
> packages that are maintained by Debian developers are expected to put and update
> their files. That's my understanding. Since gems that are installed by the gem
> command are not Debian's, they should not go to /usr/lib.
> 
> Moreover, some gems may be packaged as Debian package (.deb) by Debian
> developers. For example, you can get rake by both apt-get and gem. If gems are
> installed to /usr/lib, files of which may conflict with ones of Debian packages.
> 
> /usr/local is a preserved directory for Debian user. I think that Debian
> packages should not install any files there. Since the gem command from the
> rubygems package belongs to Debian package, it installs nothing in /usr/local.
> 
> That's why I've selected /var/lib.

Ok, thank you for the detailed explanation!

Some more related questions:
- couldn't it be possible to modify rubygems so that it installs
  binaries to (say) /var/lib/gems/bin ? this way, only this dir would
  have to be added to $PATH by users. Since a tarball installation of
  rubygems installs binaries to /usr/bin, it might just be a matter of
  changing a path somewhere...

- is it possible, using the rubygems package, to install a gem to
  /usr/lib/ruby/gems/1.8 ? This would be useful to create debian
  packages from gems.

Thank you,
-- 
| Lucas Nussbaum
| lucas at lucas-nussbaum.net   http://www.lucas-nussbaum.net/ |
| jabber: lucas at nussbaum.fr             GPG: 1024D/023B3F4F |