Boost logo

Boost :

From: Greg Colvin (gcolvin_at_[hidden])
Date: 2001-04-03 10:15:58


From: Peter Dimov <pdimov_at_[hidden]>
> From: "David Abrahams" <abrahams_at_[hidden]>
>
> > From: "Matthew Austern" <austern_at_[hidden]>
> >
> > > > As with string, the needs and wants of mutex users vary a great deal. If
> > > > we don't have a generative system, we can't meet these varied needs.
> > >
> > > I don't agree with that last sentence. If you need more than one class,
> > > it does not follow that the only solution is to have a generative system.
> > > Maybe the right solution is just to have more than one class.
> >
> > We could avoid the problem using a layered approach: if you have all the
> > classes, sticking a generative interface on top is simple.
>
> Generative programming does not mean "stick a generative interface on top."
> If you have all the classes, a generative interface is simply not necessary.

It doesn't mean that, but it can do that. And when is a generative
interface every strictly necessary? You can always give a name to
every possible combination of features.

> Generative programming, if I understand it correctly, means "look at several
> concrete examples of the solution space, separate the orthogonal features,
> generalize."

Which is one good way of designing any set of classes.


Boost list run by bdawes at acm.org, gregod at cs.rpi.edu, cpdaniel at pacbell.net, john at johnmaddock.co.uk