I’ve had a bit of trouble installing various Rubygems on my system, mostly Hpricot and Ferret which both require some code compilation. In an effort to save others the same trouble, I’ve compiled a list of tips here to make life easier…

  • Change your rbconfig.rb file in the RubyGems folder using the one created by Joyent’s Benr. This will help RubyGems find make, cc, gcc etc, which are not in their usual places in Solaris/OpenSolaris.
  • Install cc by getting the Sun Studio. You have to be registered, but if you downloaded OpenSolaris from Sun, you’ll already have an account.
  • Install gcc3. If you are using BlastWave to manage your packages simply run pkg-get install gcc3 to get it.

Hopefully this will help some of you out.

Other Great OpenSolaris/Solaris Tips

Fellow Edinburgh Rubyist Graeme Mathieson has put together some great posts on his experiences with Solaris on his new Sun Thumper. Very lucky man!