How to install libraries?

Question

I am trying to install the "libxml" Gem (http://libxml.rubyforge.org/install.xml) and it says that libxml requires a few other libraries to be installed in order to build and function properly:

  * libm      (math routines: very standard)
  * libz      (zlib)
  * libiconv
  * libxml2

I installed RubyGems but I wonder if "libiconv" for example is also a gem?

What is the way to download and install these libraries above?

Thanks!

Answer 1

I guess you're running some kind of Linux. Just open your package manager and look for the librarys. Should be pretty easy

Answer 2

You should just be able to send the include dependencies argument to gem when installing.

gem install libxml --include-dependencies

Answer 3

Those are all C libraries that have nothing whatsoever to do with Ruby, and are thus not packaged as Gems. You will have to install them via your Operating System's package manager, or, if your Operating System doesn't have a package manager, manually.

If your Operating System does have a package manager, however, you might be better off installing libxml-ruby via your OS package manager instead of via RubyGems, that way all the dependencies are automatically satisfied. On Debian-ish systems, the package is called libxml-ruby or something like that.