Before we can tackle the question of to gem or not, we first have to understand what a gem is. That's not something that is totally easy to do, but we will take a high level look at it. Gems are bits of logic, in ruby, that can be "brought in" to do tasks. They are local copies of other projects. Rails it's self is just a compilation of gems. OTher languages have similar things. .Net has DLLs, Java has packages (or JARs), and python has modules. Just about every language used in production today has a method for "sharing logic" between other projects. That is the primary function of a gem. It lets your write a bit of logic one time, maintain it one time, and consume it in many projects. The best analogy that I can think of is your house's air conditioner. If your house was a rails project, the A/C would be a gem. It's an important part of your overall house, but they basically just come in and set the machine down, then "wire it up" with electrical and duct work. Yes it's integrated, and yest it's important, but your builder didn't have to build an air compressor, or air handler, or heat pump by hand from raw materials. He just caller Trane and plugged in their system.

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I came across this question on programmers stack exchange. Basically the user is asking if it is worth writing good clean code, and refactoring code. It's a fair question but it's complicated. As a developer who focuses on clean, well tested code I thought I would take some time to focus on answering this question (and adding a few comments about metrics along the way).

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Simply put the Heartbleed bug (or CVE-2014-0160) is an issue in OpenSSL that exposes "Encrypted data" to someone trying to gain access to private or protected data. For example, credit card information sent between you and a online store, should be encrypted, making it harder for someone other then you or the store to get the information. The Heartbleed bug exposes some of that info (for example).

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I was reading up on a forum for one of the open source projects I support and I came across a few posts that made me think about "what Canonical is doing wrong". However when I really started to think about the real underlining issues, I started to think about the types of Linux users out there. Eventually I came to the opinion that Canonical's main problem is that it is appealing to the wrong segment of Linux users. This led me to the question; "What kind of Linux user are you?" That's the real reason for this article. So I ask you, what kind of Linux user are you. And before you answer with "I don't use Linux." read the article and see where you fit. Chances are you use Linux every day and just don't realize it. If your a client then your probably even paying to use Linux, even if you never login.

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New version of rails, means it’s time again for another article on setting up a production server to run it.

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• To Gem or Not to Gem? That is a very good question. (08/10/2015)

  Before we can tackle the question of to gem or not, we first have to understand what a ... read more

• Clean Code and Metrics (06/15/2015)

  I came across this question on programmers stack exchange. Basically the user is asking... read more

• The Obligatory Heartbleed Article (04/25/2014)

  Simply put the Heartbleed bug (or CVE-2014-0160) is an issue in OpenSSL that exposes "E... read more

• What Type of Linux User Are You? (01/13/2014)

  I was reading up on a forum for one of the open source projects I support and I came ac... read more

• Installing Ruby 2 and Rails 4 in production (11/26/2013)

  New version of rails, means it's time again for another article on setting up a product... read more

• Compiled vs. Interpreted (11/03/2013)

  I don't get asked very often but every once in a while a client will ask me, "What's th... read more

• Some thoughts on Internet Surveys (10/29/2013)

  Internet surveys seem to go though a cycle of popularity. First everyone wants to have ... read more

• Information about Screen Sharing (09/21/2013)

  ##Why would I want to use screen sharing? Sharing screens on-line can be a great way... read more

• Private Browsing Not Just For Keeping Secrets (11/03/2012)

  One part of testing web application involves frequently logging in and out to change lo... read more

• A Brief Look at a Web Request Life Cycle (10/22/2012)

  On occasion I have been asked about features that revolve around user login. This bring... read more

• A High Level Look at Git Branching (10/12/2012)

  After posting a few articles that talk about branching and git, a few of my clients hav... read more

• Quick Database Branching Tip (10/04/2012)

  This is just a quick article to let others know of a really quick tip for testing multi... read more

• AT&T and FaceTime (08/23/2012)

  First let me say that I don't have a law degree, I don't work for AT&T, and I don't kno... read more

• Tips for posting on Guru.com (08/14/2012)

  The following are a few tips for clients posting work on Guru.com. I get a lot of work ... read more

• Testing With Real Money (07/29/2012)

  When building a new website, or making changes to a current site, there is always some ... read more

• A Simple Sample Workflow (07/17/2012)

  It's easy to see how code changes work. A client asks for a new feature, then at a late... read more

• A Nice Rails Testing Setup (06/26/2012)

  So I was recently asked about how I test. I realized that I have a very nice setup (fo... read more

• Installing Ruby 1.9 on Production (06/20/2012)

  So after my post about [Installing Rails in Production](http://www.coteyr.net/articles/... read more

• A Guide to Good Linking (06/17/2012)

  This article is a guide to making good links. Links are the text or images that take yo... read more

• Revisiting Installing Rails 3 (06/16/2012)

  ## Why take a second look ## From time to time I get a few emails asking me to updat... read more

• Slow Running Websites (04/06/2012)

  When using any website one of the worse things to run into is a site responding slowly.... read more

• Converting to Markdown (04/05/2012)

  I recently converted coteyr.net over to markdown. This article is a few notes and detai... read more

• Scheduling Tasks (10/16/2011)

    For anyone running just about any size website or server, there comes a time w... read more

• Notes About DNS (09/12/2011)

    Almost all of my clients run websites. A good number of them are hosted extern... read more

• A Word on Passwords (09/11/2011)

    I just wanted to take a quick minuet to stress the importance of strong passwo... read more

• Installing Rails 3 in 6 setps (07/30/2011)

    In my original article, which you can view here, we installed Ruby on Rails 2.3... read more

• Cloud Computing (06/06/2011)

  Cloud computing is becomming more and more popular so I thought I would take the time t... read more

• Muting the Computer when Someone calls (12/15/2010)

  UPDATE There were enough people wanting this, so I went ahead and made the process a l... read more

• Site Setter (12/01/2010)

  Ok, so this one is strictly for the developers who use Mac out there. You know how you ... read more

• Converting from Linux to Mac (11/19/2010)

  I recently upgraded my main work machine (rather I wanted to or not) to a Mac Book Pro.... read more

• Web safe fonts (08/26/2010)

  Fonts can be a great way to add a little style or flare to part of your site. A big blo... read more

• Emergency Scaling (08/20/2010)

  It can be the biggest disaster you have ever faced, or the best thing that has ever&nbs... read more

• Facebook Woes (06/16/2010)

  I have been asked quite a few times how Facebook applications work and what you can and... read more

• Cool Rails Trick #638 (05/28/2010)

  This one is more for the developers. When we developers write code we try very hard to ... read more

• Installing Rails on Production in 12 Steps (05/13/2010)

  I always try to get my clients to use the right host for them. In many cases this can b... read more

• To Flash or Not to Flash (05/11/2010)

  Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple computers has stated in this letter, that flash will not be on... read more

• The coolest things to git (04/29/2010)

  Ok I like git, I love it, and I use it from 100% of my source control. Even when client... read more

• Error Codes (04/26/2010)

  Websites can create many different error codes. These error codes are segment... read more

• Rails Hosting Situations (04/14/2010)

  Over the past few weeks I have seen a resurgence of clients asking for smalle... read more

• Can SPAM (03/31/2010)

  The CAN-SPAM act is a horridly named law that was put into place in 2003. More and mo... read more

• New Malware Trends (03/31/2010)

  if you have been following Internet trends then you have surly read about Google mark... read more

• Older Browsers (03/31/2010)

   thought I would take a moment to comment on this as it effects my customers dir... read more

• What is in a SLA (03/31/2010)

  SLA. is an acronym for service level agreement. Basically it is an agreement between ... read more

• Linux v.s. Mac OS X (03/31/2010)

  First a couple of quick notes. I tried to be objective when doing this review but I a... read more

• Google Voice (03/31/2010)

  I Finally got my Google Voice invite this morning, and I must admit it’s pretty... read more

• 80/20 (03/31/2010)

  So what makes a good piece of software? Where should you do your most UI tuning? How ... read more

• Menu Accessability (03/31/2010)

  Today navigation is an important part of any website. Choosing a menu system can be o... read more

• New: Host Monitoring (03/31/2010)

  I am happy to announce that I am externalizing some of the host monitoring that I am ... read more

• Flash Charts and Rails (03/31/2010)

  I am working on a few projects that require some simple charts. Historically I have b... read more

• Open Source meets clenched fist (03/31/2010)

  Ok, so it’s time for me to plug a new product. My beloved blackberry recently b... read more

• Elements of Design (03/31/2010)

  Another questions that I keep getting asked; What makes a good website design? There ... read more

• Lorem Ipsum (03/31/2010)

  I got asked the other day what Lorem Ipsum means and why I use it as a filler when I ... read more

• Do you need a website? (03/31/2010)

  Well that is a very good question, and not easily answered. First lets look at the re... read more

• 40 SEO Optimization Tips (03/31/2010)

  A couple questions I get asked all the time: Why doesn’t my site show in Googl... read more

• Moving to Open Source (03/31/2010)

  Recently a colleague of mine contacted me, saying that an associate of  his (yep... read more

• Guru, from the other side (03/31/2010)

  If you have been visiting this site for a while you know that the layout has changed.... read more

• The Wide Screen Web (03/31/2010)

  In the the day of wide screen football, HDTV, 16:9, 1080i and 720p, why hasn’t ... read more