##libv8

A gem for distributing the v8 runtime libraries and headers in both source and binary form.

Why?

The goal of libv8 is two fold: provide a binary gem containing the a pre-compiled libv8.a for as many platforms as possible while at the same time supporting for an automated compilation for all others.

Not only does this drastically reduce gem install times, but it also reduces dependencies on the local machine receiving the gem. It also opens the door for supporting Windows.

Do I Get a Binary?

That depends on your platform. Right now, we support the following platforms.

• x86_64-darwin10.7.0
• x86_64-linux
• x86-linux

If you don't see your platform on this list, first, make sure that it installs from source, and second talk to us about setting up a binary distro for you.

What if I can't install from source?

If you can fix the Makefile so that it correctly compiles for your platform, we'll pull it right in!

To get the source, these commands will get you started:

git clone git@github.com:fractaloop/libv8
cd libv8
git submodule update --init
bundle install
bundle exec rake compile

About

This project spun off of therubyracer which depends on having a specific version of v8 to compile and run against. However, actually delivering that version reliably to all the different platforms proved to be a challenge to say the least.

We got tired of waiting 5 minutes for v8 to compile every time we installed that gem.