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this ubuntu version brings ruby 2.3.1p112 (2016-04-26) [x86_64-linux-gnu]. so all i did to install was the normal process which is gem install compass but this installation throws this error:

Building native extensions.  This could take a while...
ERROR:  Error installing compass:
    ERROR: Failed to build gem native extension.

    current directory: /var/lib/gems/2.3.0/gems/ffi-1.9.14/ext/ffi_c
/usr/bin/ruby2.3 -r ./siteconf20160907-12074-v2oz2d.rb extconf.rb
mkmf.rb can't find header files for ruby at /usr/lib/ruby/include/ruby.h

extconf failed, exit code 1

Gem files will remain installed in /var/lib/gems/2.3.0/gems/ffi-1.9.14 for inspection.
Results logged to /var/lib/gems/2.3.0/extensions/x86_64-linux/2.3.0/ffi-1.9.14/gem_make.out

i tried with installing ruby-dev with the command apt get install ruby-dev as root but it is not available on this ubuntu for some reason, it throws this error:

Package ruby-dev is not available, but is referred to by another package.
This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or
is only available from another source

E: Package 'ruby-dev' has no installation candidate
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  • What command did you use to install ruby-dev and what error messages did you get? Add the errors of your ruby-dev install attempt to your question. – L. D. James Sep 7 '16 at 8:14
  • @L.D.James i edited the question explaining how – Oscar Reyes Sep 7 '16 at 8:17
  • Which version of Ubuntu are you running? – L. D. James Sep 7 '16 at 8:21
  • @L.D.James ubuntu 16.04 x64 – Oscar Reyes Sep 7 '16 at 8:23
  • @nosthertus any reason to use gem and not apt? Disclaimer: not familiar with Ruby, just a hard core Ubuntu user.. – Sujeet Sinha Sep 7 '16 at 8:43
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The compass install is failing because of the lack of the ruby-dev installation.

ruby-dev is included in Ubuntu's repository. You'll have to update your repository to have the full available packages and depends.

Perform these commands to do this:

$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt upgrade
$ sudo apt full-upgrade
$ sudo apt install ruby-dev
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    Just wanted to add a small point.. Starting Ubuntu 16.04, you can simply use apt instead of apt-get. A subtle but a welcome change :) – Sujeet Sinha Sep 7 '16 at 8:46
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    @SujeetSinha Thanks. I agree with the welcome change. The apt has features that are more convenient to use, such as the search argument which doesn't require remembering a separate apt command to run. I updated the answer to include the change. – L. D. James Aug 11 '17 at 14:22
  • Not mentioned here was another dependency I was missing. In addtion to others listed here, libffi-dev must be installed. sudo apt install libffi-dev – lexicant Feb 8 '18 at 17:25

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