Category Archives: Tech

May 01 2019
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Programming, Ruby, sysadmin, Tech

Fixing the ruby ‘CoreFoundation/CFString.h’ file not found install error

I hit this error installing the latest Ruby using rbenv:

$ rbenv install 2.6.3
ruby-build: use openssl from homebrew
Downloading ruby-2.6.3.tar.bz2...
-> https://cache.ruby-lang.org/pub/ruby/2.6/ruby-2.6.3.tar.bz2
Installing ruby-2.6.3...
ruby-build: use readline from homebrew

BUILD FAILED (OS X 10.14.4 using ruby-build 20190423)

Inspect or clean up the working tree at /var/folders/r7/kjzbwmx533b20hcf1_s9kc9c0000gn/T/ruby-build.20190501131413.33977
Results logged to /var/folders/r7/kjzbwmx533b20hcf1_s9kc9c0000gn/T/ruby-build.20190501131413.33977.log

Last 10 log lines:
compiling error.c
compiling eval.c
compiling file.c
compiling gc.c
file.c:23:10: fatal error: 'CoreFoundation/CFString.h' file not found
#include
^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 error generated.
make: *** [file.o] Error 1
make: *** Waiting for unfinished jobs....

The problem is missing headers. To re-install just run this command:

open /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools/Packages/macOS_SDK_headers_for_macOS_10.14.pkg

Now, Ruby should install just fine:

$ rbenv install 2.6.3
ruby-build: use openssl from homebrew
Downloading ruby-2.6.3.tar.bz2…
-> https://cache.ruby-lang.org/pub/ruby/2.6/ruby-2.6.3.tar.bz2
Installing ruby-2.6.3…
ruby-build: use readline from homebrew
Installed ruby-2.6.3 to /Users/will/.rbenv/versions/2.6.3

Feb 13 2019
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Ruby, Tech, Uncategorized

Fixing errors installing the charlock_holmes ruby gem

This gem can be a PITA to install on a mac, this is what worked for me. If you get this error:


charlock_holmes -v '0.7.6'
Building native extensions. This could take a while…
ERROR: Error installing charlock_holmes:
ERROR: Failed to build gem native extension.
current directory: /Users/will/.rbenv/versions/2.6.1/lib/ruby/gems/2.6.0/gems/charlock_holmes-0.7.6/ext/charlock_holmes
/Users/will/.rbenv/versions/2.6.1/bin/ruby -I /Users/will/.rbenv/versions/2.6.1/lib/ruby/2.6.0 -r ./siteconf20190213-34122-e636v8.rb extconf.rb
checking for -licui18n… yes
checking for -licui18n… yes
checking for unicode/ucnv.h… no
***************************************************************************************
*********** icu required (brew install icu4c or apt-get install libicu-dev) ***********
***************************************************************************************
*** extconf.rb failed ***
Could not create Makefile due to some reason, probably lack of necessary
libraries and/or headers. Check the mkmf.log file for more details. You may
need configuration options.
Provided configuration options:
–with-opt-dir
–without-opt-dir
–with-opt-include
–without-opt-include=${opt-dir}/include
–with-opt-lib
–without-opt-lib=${opt-dir}/lib
–with-make-prog
–without-make-prog
–srcdir=.
–curdir
–ruby=/Users/will/.rbenv/versions/2.6.1/bin/$(RUBY_BASE_NAME)
–with-icu-dir
–without-icu-dir
–with-icu-include
–without-icu-include=${icu-dir}/include
–with-icu-lib
–without-icu-lib=${icu-dir}/lib
–with-icui18nlib
–without-icui18nlib
–with-icui18nlib
–without-icui18nlib
To see why this extension failed to compile, please check the mkmf.log which can be found here:
/Users/will/.rbenv/versions/2.6.1/lib/ruby/gems/2.6.0/extensions/x86_64-darwin-18/2.6.0-static/charlock_holmes-0.7.6/mkmf.log
extconf failed, exit code 1
Gem files will remain installed in /Users/will/.rbenv/versions/2.6.1/lib/ruby/gems/2.6.0/gems/charlock_holmes-0.7.6 for inspection.
Results logged to /Users/will/.rbenv/versions/2.6.1/lib/ruby/gems/2.6.0/extensions/x86_64-darwin-18/2.6.0-static/charlock_holmes-0.7.6/gem_make.out

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gistfile1.txt

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First, make sure you have installed the required dependencies:

brew install xz icu4c

Now, install charlock_holmes:

gem install charlock_holmes -v=0.7.6 -- --with-opt-dir=/usr/local/opt --with-opt-include=/usr/local/opt/icu4c/include --with-opt-lib=/usr/local/opt/icu4c/lib --with-cxxflags=-std=c++11

Sep 07 2013
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Golang, Ping-pong robot, Programming, Raspberry Pi, Robotics, Tech

Secret project

Tiny motor

One of my new motors. It’s about 10mm in diameter

I’ve started work on a top-secret project. I can’t really hide the fact that it’s going to be a robot, but I’m not going to say what it is, at least not just yet.

So, last night I was designing a 3d printed mount for the tiny 3-6V motors I bought and I started to wonder if I could cobble something together using my old technic lego. I dug out the lego, but on top of that was my dusty old meccano set, even better!

WIthin a short amount of time I had some motor mounts and a frame made, including tensioning springs for the caterpillar tracks. All that was left was to take it for a spin. I hooked it up to my Raspberry Pi via my Custard Pi breakout board, a ULN2803A and a custom voltage regulator circuit.

Meccano wheel mount

Motor mount

Seeing if it drives in a straight line:

Hooked up to the Raspberry Pi, controlled by microswitches. You can see the top of the Custard Pi poking out over the mess of wires that is my breadboard and the cheap wireless dongle/antenna I got from eBay. The voltage regulator circuit makes an appearance being dragged along behind:

MotorPiTX

MotorPiTX kit

Right now it only goes forwards because I didn’t have the circuitry for anything else, but I got my MotorPiTX in the mail this morning so that will change soon.

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May 05 2011
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sendcat, Tech, Web

Introducing sendcat.com

I send files to people, you send files to people. People who have computers need to send files, it’s something we have needed to do since computers were first invented. It could be easier.

Sending files is laborious. You have to open an email, address it, click ‘attach’, choose the file, put something in the subject line, put something in the body and send it. Hassle. I’m tired of doing this.

Sendcat logo

That’s why I created sendcat.com. It’s a web service that makes it *really* simple to send files. There are services out there that promise two-step sending, I’m aiming for one-step file sending.

I want to make it simple to send files, but most developers are heavy terminal users. I’m planning on providing a CLI (Command Line Interface) client as a first-class interface to the Sendcat service.

Join the beta team, get a discount

If you’re interested in the beta head over to sendcat.com and put in your email address, I’ll let you know when it’s in beta and you can sign up. I’ll make sure there is some sort of discount for people who want to keep using the service when the beta period is up, sign up to make sure you’re eligible.

Alpha

Right now Sendcat is in alpha. I’m looking for people to use the service (for free) while I work on features and bug fixes. It works though, I’m using it to send files to people daily.

If you want to try out the service for free email me. You will need a Mac OS X or Linux machine, RubyGems installed and a knowledge of the command line. The GUI client is coming soon.

Happy sharing!

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