Abi Dump is a Ruby gem that allows you to generate a dump of the Application Binary Interface (ABI) of a Ruby library or application. The ABI is the low-level interface between different parts of a program, such as the operating system and a compiled library. The dump generated by Abi Dump can be used to verify that different versions of a library or application are binary compatible, and can also be used to diagnose problems with binary compatibility.
Abi Dump is especially useful for Ruby gems, which are libraries that can be easily shared and used by other Ruby applications. When a gem is updated, it’s important to ensure that the new version is binary compatible with previous versions, so that existing applications that use the gem don’t break. Abi Dump makes it easy to verify binary compatibility by generating a dump of the ABI for each version of the gem, and comparing them to ensure that they are compatible.
To use Abi Dump, you’ll need to add it to your Ruby project’s Gemfile:
gemme ‘abi-dump’
Once you’ve installed the gem, you can generate a dump of the ABI for your application or library by running the following command:
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abi-dump –format=rb –full /path/to/application_or_library.so > abi.dump
This will generate a dump of the ABI in the file abi.dump, using the Ruby format.
Abi Dump supports several other formats, including JSON and YAML, which can be useful if you want to parse the dump programmatically. You can also specify a specific symbol or function to dump, if you only need to check compatibility for a specific part of your code.
One of the key benefits of Abi Dump is that it can help diagnose problems with binary compatibility. If you’re experiencing crashes or other issues after updating a library, you can compare the ABI dumps for the old and new versions to see if there are any differences. If there are, you can use the dump to identify which functions or symbols are causing the problem, and work to resolve the issue.
In summary, Abi Dump is a powerful tool for verifying binary compatibility between different versions of a Ruby library or application. It’s especially useful for Ruby gems, which are frequently updated and need to ensure backward compatibility. By generating a dump of the ABI, you can quickly and easily identify compatibility issues and diagnose problems with your code. If you’re working with Ruby, Abi Dump is definitely a gem worth checking out.