Tar2RubyScript

Tar2RubyScript is a helpful tool for developers that transforms a directory tree containing your application into a single Ruby script. Along with some code to handle this archive, Tar2RubyScript can also be distributed to friends who need to execute your application. It's worth noting that this tool is not meant for installing applications, but rather for enabling their execution.

In simple terms, you can think of Tar2RubyScript as the Ruby version of Java's JAR, or an RBA (Ruby Archive). Packing related application files into one RBA application makes it easy to distribute your application or library to anyone with Ruby installed. They don't need to install anything else but Ruby itself.

With an RBA, both the application and library files are contained in a single Ruby script. Unlike the JAR format, there's no need for new extensions for RBA's as the algorithm to handle them comes with it; hence, any future changes to the format are easy to implement.

The entry point for RBA is simple- just load init.rb. Additionally, RBA is much smaller in size than its JAR counterpart, making it easier to distribute to friends. Although JAR and RBA both compress their contents, the latter hasn't copied this feature yet.

The Tar2RubyScript release offers a few bug fixes and updates compared to the previous versions. For instance, this release adds support for hard links and symbolic links (not on Windows) and fixes a bug concerning looping symlinks and a bug concerning too many open files.

Overall, Tar2RubyScript is an easily accessible tool for anyone who needs to execute Ruby applications or distribute libraries to Ruby users. Don't forget to check out the free guide, Distributing Ruby Applications, to help you pack and share your Ruby applications effectively.