RubyInline enables the integration of C code within Ruby scripts.
With Ruby Inline, you can even teach it how to cope with new languages like Fortran or Perl by writing simple builder classes.
Some key features of Ruby Inline include quick and easy inlining of your C or C++ code, extendibility to work with other languages, automatic conversion between Ruby and C basic types (like char, unsigned, unsigned int, char *, int, long, and unsigned long), an inline_c_raw option for when the automatic conversion isn't sufficient, and recompiling only when necessary.
In terms of security, Ruby Inline pretends to be secure and only uses standard Ruby libraries, so there's nothing extra to download. Of course, there are a few requirements that you'll need in order to use Ruby Inline, including Ruby 1.6.7 & 1.8.2 (which have been used on FreeBSD 4.6+ and MacOSX), a POSIX compliant system (like any UNIX or Cygwin on MS platforms), a C/C++ compiler (the same one that compiled your Ruby interpreter), and test::unit for running tests (or rubygems if you'd like).
To install Ruby Inline, simply run "make test" (which is optional) and "make install". Overall, if you're looking for an easy and effective way to embed C/++ external module code in your Ruby script, Ruby Inline is definitely worth checking out!
Version 3.2.1: N/A