Re: [boost] [integer] Promotion of endian library code from vault

From: Beman Dawes (bdawes_at_[hidden])
Date: 2008-05-23 09:11:04

Neil Mayhew wrote:
> On 2006-07-22 12:21:01, Beman Dawes wrote:
>> [boost] [integer] endian-0.6 posted w/ names changed
>> endian-0.6.zip has been posted in the integer directory of the file 
>> vault at http://boost-consulting.com/vault/
> 
> This code is still in the vault, but I'd like to see it in the main part 
> of boost. What needs to be done to make this happen?

Here's what has happened:

In working on endian, I became convince that the C++ standard's POD 
specification was a serious impediment and needed major revision. The 
standards committee agreed, and so C++0x will include a major relaxation 
on the requirements for POD's. Among other changes, base classes and 
constructors are permitted (under certain conditions).

See http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2007/n2342.htm

That work led Lawrence Crowl to come up with the idea of deleted and 
defaulted function for C++0x, which works synergistically with the POD's 
changes.

See http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2007/n2346.htm

A third C++0x feature, constexpr, may also be useful for endian.

See http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2007/n2235.pdf

So the next step is to revisit the current endian design, and apply 
C++0x features where useful. Some of these features are starting to 
become available in compilers, so they can be tested. ifdef's will be 
needed, of course, so that the endian stuff will still work with C++03 
compilers.

I'm buried with other commitments, so if someone else wants to help with 
endian it might speed things up quite a bit.

Thanks,

--Beman