Installing Cucumber on Ubuntu - cannot load such file -- mkmf (LoadError) message

For 2023 (and 2024 ...) - we are now fully retired from IT training.
We have made many, many friends over 25 years of teaching about Python, Tcl, Perl, PHP, Lua, Java, C and C++ - and MySQL, Linux and Solaris/SunOS too. Our training notes are now very much out of date, but due to upward compatability most of our examples remain operational and even relevant ad you are welcome to make us if them "as seen" and at your own risk.

Lisa and I (Graham) now live in what was our training centre in Melksham - happy to meet with former delegates here - but do check ahead before coming round. We are far from inactive - rather, enjoying the times that we are retired but still healthy enough in mind and body to be active!

I am also active in many other area and still look after a lot of web sites - you can find an index ((here))

This week, I'm doing Ruby training using Ubuntu Linux ... and I'm running (at customer's request) in a heaviliy Behaviour Driven Development mode using Cucumber. This note is to share with an installation problem ... easily fixed once you know how.

Problem:

  root@caerphilly:~# gem install cucumber

  Fetching: builder-3.2.2.gem (100%)

  Fetching: diff-lcs-1.2.5.gem (100%)

  Fetching: multi_json-1.10.1.gem (100%)

  Fetching: gherkin-2.12.2.gem (100%)

  Building native extensions.  This could take a while...

  ERROR:  Error installing cucumber:

    ERROR: Failed to build gem native extension.

  

    /usr/bin/ruby1.9.1 extconf.rb

  /usr/lib/ruby/1.9.1/rubygems/custom_require.rb:36:in `require': cannot load such file -- mkmf (LoadError)

    from /usr/lib/ruby/1.9.1/rubygems/custom_require.rb:36:in `require'

    from extconf.rb:1:in `<main>'

  

  

  Gem files will remain installed in /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/gherkin-2.12.2 for inspection.

  Results logged to /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/gherkin-2.12.2/ext/gherkin_lexer_ar/gem_make.out

  root@caerphilly:~#

Solution:

you need the development environment for Ruby - for the Ubuntu version I'm using, the extra is
apt-get install ruby1.9.1-dev
and then these two work nicely

  gem install cucumber

  gem install rspec

See [here] for details of our Ruby training. Public courses will overview design, testing, test driven development and behaviour driven development, and delegates are welcome to learn within such an environment. On private courses, we can take a somewhat more active approach to BDD and TDD and introduce it early on as a framework for much of the course if required.
(written 2015-01-04, updated 2015-01-06)

Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles

R221 - Ruby - Introduction to Cucumber
  [4380] Behaviour Driven Development / Ruby and Cucumber - (2015-01-02)
  [4381] Installing Cucumber (Ruby) - (2015-01-03)
  [4382] Second step Cucumber and Gherkin - beyond Hello World - (2015-01-03)
  [4383] Improved test in Cucumber with RSpec - (2015-01-03)
  [4386] Guide exercise to help you learn Gherkin, Cucumber and Rspec - (2015-01-06)
  [4551] Testing your new class - first steps with cucumber - (2015-10-23)
  [4552] Scenario outlines - tables of values to test - in Gherkin / Cucumber - (2015-10-23)

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