rb_import

rb_import adds an import method to your Ruby VM that lets you load a file that exposes a Ruby object. As long as the imported file doesn't pollute the VM's constants table (ie: defines a constant), the caller won't see any unwanted objects.

module Foo
  import '/path/to/bar.rb' # this file defines a Bar class
end

Bar.new      # => NameError: uninitialized constant Bar
Foo::Bar.new # => #<Foo::Bar:0x0000000206a390>

require-ing/load-ing a file in Ruby works by assigning constructs (classes, modules, functions, etc.) to constants, so that they could be reused in other parts of your app.

The problem is: a library that you don't own can use any name for any of its construct that could potentially collide with your own app's construct names. Naming is hard and, namespacing with modules doesn't even work (colliding module names, crazy meta-programming, etc.).

With rb_import, simply return a Ruby object from your files and import them only in classes that will need those objects.

rb_import is cryptographically signed. Please make sure the gem you install hasn’t been tampered with.

Add my public key (if you haven’t already) as a trusted certificate:

gem cert --add <(curl -Ls https://raw.githubusercontent.com/franckverrot/rb_import/master/certs/franckverrot.pem)

gem install rb_import -P MediumSecurity

The MediumSecurity trust profile will verify signed gems, but allow the installation of unsigned dependencies.

This is necessary because not all of rb_import’ dependencies are necessarily signed, so we cannot use HighSecurity.

Add this line to your application's Gemfile:

gem 'rb_import'

And then execute:

$ bundle

Or install it yourself as:

$ gem install rb_import

Alternatively, you can spawn a pry console right away by just running:

$ rake console

# foo.rb
class Foo
  def bar
    "bar"
  end
end

# bar.rb
module SomeModule
  Foo = import './foo.rb'
end

Foo             # => NameError: uninitialized constant Foo
SomeModule::Foo # => SomeModule::Foo

# foo.rb
Class.new do
  def bar
    "bar"
  end
end

# bar.rb
foo = import './foo.rb'
puts foo.new.bar # => outputs "bar"

See files in the test directory for examples.

Yes.

Yes. I guess.

1. Fork it ( https://github.com/franckverrot/rb_import/fork )
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b my-new-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -am 'Add some feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin my-new-feature)
5. Create new Pull Request