System for organizing multi-file Ruby programs?

Question

Is there a standard or conventional system for organizing multi-file Ruby programs? I have embarked on my first large "project" in Ruby, a search program which is logically organized into multiple files and directories. I've outlined below my potential structure:

• The main file. This file implements the search class and general searching protocol.
• The algorithmic analysis file. This file implements functions that interpret search results.
• Protocols directory
  • Contains one file per protocol to search.
• Feeds Directory
  • Part of the program's purpose is to search archived news feeds. The files for this feature go in this folder.

However, the code currently has a class (let's call it Searcher) that each protocol's search class inherits from (GoogleSearcher < Searcher). In order to manage this, I need to include the main file in these protocol files (right?) which doesn't seem possible given my ideal structure.

Aside from my specific example, I was wondering if there are any conventions, such as "more files rather than less", or "logical structuring of files is unnecessary". Is it common to have a file of "helper" functions (such as in Rails?) What level of abstraction is considered appropriate?

Finally, I'm planning on integrating this into Rails someday as a library (not a plugin; I want it to work standalone as well). I don't know if this would affect the organization.

I know this is a pretty open-ended question, but that's because I would appreciate any advice that is remotely relevant. Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

If you want to integrate with Rails, you will probably want to create a plugin.

This guide might be a good place to start: http://guides.rubyonrails.org/plugins.html

Answer 2

You may want to consider creating a gem for your library. This would make it easy to use the library both stand-alone and with Rails, as well as make deployment/updates simpler.

Further, because gems normally follow a specific directory structure, it also solves your issue of not knowing how to organize the library.

There is plenty of documentation available for creating gems. This article is a good place to start. Here's a bit more info about file structure, as well as other useful tips.

Answer 3

You might want to take a look at http://stackoverflow.com/questions/614309/ideal-ruby-project-structure in conjunction with vonconrad's advice. A gem would definitely be a good place to start and a run through the official rubygems documentation might also be beneficial.