To build a gem, you can use the following command in the terminal:
gem build gemname
This command will create a gem file with the extension .gem.
It packages your gem’s code and metadata into a single file, which can then be easily distributed and installed by others.
Let’s consider an example. Suppose you have a gem called “mygem” and you want to build it. You would run the command:
gem build mygem
After executing the command, a file named mygem-1.0.0.gem (version number may vary) would be generated.
This file contains your gem’s code, as well as information such as its name, version, author, and dependencies.
Once the gem is built, you can share it with others or publish it to a gem repository like RubyGems.org.
Other developers can then install your gem by running gem install mygem.