[Rubygems-developers] Option defaults

[Gavin Sinclair]

I've added to the code so that 'gem help install', for instance, now
includes this down the bottom:

  Defaults:
    --both --version '> 0' --no-rdoc --no-force --no-test --install-stub
    --install-dir /usr/local/lib/ruby/gems/1.8

The stuff that is printed is a hardcoded string in each relevant command
class.  I mentally tried and rejected two strategies for integrating
option specification and documentation.  Anyway, it's not hard to
maintain.

Now, I'd like to ask: can we rid ourselves of the explicit "--version '>
0'" that appears throughout the RubyGems system?  I'd like to change the
code so that the entire system *assumes* "version greater than zero" by
default.  Then we would simply use 'nil' as a version requirement, in the
absence of a user one.

Would such a change be controversial?

One motivation is this.  Instead of seeing this in every gem specification
(YAML):

  required_ruby_version: !ruby/object:Gem::Version::Requirement
    requirements:
      -
        - ">"
        - !ruby/object:Gem::Version
          version: 0.0.0

I'd like to see this:

  required_ruby_version:


Cheers,
Gavin