Hi Everyone,

I started on a series to learn by reversing a native Ruby gem. Part 3 is now published! The step continues the examination by seeing how we package and ensure that the native extension is actually built during installation. Also, why are there 2 Makefiles?

Part 3 - How do we ensure that we have everything and that it actually gets built at installation?
  Link: https://notepad.onghu.com/2023/learning-by-reversing-s1-e3-native-gems/

The first 2 parts are also online on my blog:
* Part 1 - This covers the background to the gem we explore
  Link: https://notepad.onghu.com/2023/learning-by-reversing-s1-e1-native-gems/
* Part 2 - This goes into the details of how ruby loads the native gem and extension (and includes a nice sequence diagram of how all the bits happen together)
  Link: https://notepad.onghu.com/2023/learning-by-reversing-s1-e2-native-gems/

Future posts are planned to go into details like:
* The interface between Ruby and C
* The Development Makefile and a Makefile that also works on Windows
* Running the specs and the performance benchmark
* Enhancements:
  - Providing an executable
  - A gem that also works on JRuby
  - Making the gem ractor friendly
  - Patching an existing gem rather than a new module

Comments on the posts or the plans welcome. I'm @onghu on Twitter or @onghu@ruby.social on Mastodon if you're on either.

Best regards,
Mohit.