[boost] [website] libs/* --> doc/libs/BOOST_VERSION/libs/* rewriting rule

Subject: [boost] [website] libs/* --> doc/libs/BOOST_VERSION/libs/* rewriting rule
From: joaquin_at_[hidden]
Date: 2008-10-09 06:47:03

Hello,

The website PHP is devised in such a way that documentation URLs are 
automatically
rewritten to point to the specific Boost version most recently shipped. 
For instance,
if I type the following in my browser:

  http://www.boost.org/libs/smart_ptr/smart_ptr.htm

I get the following redirection:

  http://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_36_0/libs/smart_ptr/smart_ptr.htm

This is fine in that it allows us to keep a historic record of 
documentation across
Boost versions. My little complain is that the automatic redirection 
makes it all
too easy to inadvertently use version-specific URLs when referring to Boost
docs in external contexts (blogs, forums, etc.) This is in my opinion 
unfortunate
because such URLs are stuck in time and do not reflect the evolution of
the library. Of course it's easy to get to the most recent info, but 
untrained eyes
might miss the detail and take the version-specific URL for the most updated
reference. A simple Google search (http://tinyurl.com/42ufrn ) reveals that
these version-specific URLs are beginning to proliferate.

Maybe is it a good idea to not apply this redirection and instead serve 
the most
updated docs for non-version-labeled URLs?

Thank you,

Joaquín M López Muñoz
Telefónica, Investigación y Desarrollo