Can you believe it? It's actually time to start writing the code for your gem! Now, in this part of the guide you'll be more "on your own" than up to this point. I don't know what kind of open source library you're writing, whether it's an extension to an existing library, a simple utility, or a complex, sprawling project that will change the face of development forever. What I do know, however, is that there are some common things that you may want to do that have community best practices attached.

A good toolchain is important for any development project. It makes the lives of developers easier by abstracting away or automating repetitive tasks. You should always spend some time at the outset of a project making sure you're using all of the best tools available. On an open source project this is 10 times more important. Instead of building a toolchain that will be used by your company or small team, you're building a toolchain that will potentially be used by dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of other developers.

Eureka! You've thought of a new idea for an open source library. Perhaps you already have some code tucked away in your application that you're extracting into a library, or perhaps you're starting from scratch. Either way, your next step is going to be setting up a gem folder to which you can then add code, tests, and documentation. As we saw previously, RubyGems are simply folders that follow certain patterns. You can build one from scratch quite easily, but luckily we have some tools that make it even easier.

Building an open source library can be a daunting task if you've never done it before. How should I structure the project? What do I need to include in terms of documentation? What tools can I use to make my library friendly for others to contribute?