Re: [boost] [wiki] Warning Guidelines for VC

Subject: Re: [boost] [wiki] Warning Guidelines for VC
From: Paul A. Bristow (pbristow_at_[hidden])
Date: 2010-12-30 05:05:55

> -----Original Message-----
> From: boost-bounces_at_[hidden] [mailto:boost-bounces_at_[hidden]]
> On Behalf Of Michael Caisse
> Sent: Thursday, December 30, 2010 8:48 AM
> To: boost_at_[hidden]
> Subject: [boost] [wiki] Warning Guidelines for VC
> 
> A question just came up on IRC concerning the use of the /Za ("disable
language
> extensions") and it not working. While searching for a previous post from
STL on
> the subject [1] Google offered this link:
> 
> <https://svn.boost.org/trac/boost/wiki/Guidelines/WarningsGuidelines>
> 
> 
> STL's (Stephan Lavavej's) advice on the subject was to *not* use /Za
because it
> has "an extremely nasty bug". Unfortunately our guidelines suggest it
should be
> used.

"If it proves impossible to compile with the /Za option 

*(it is reported to cause trouble with the MS compiler, sometimes),*
<<<<<<<<<<<<

 just document this, including in the build jamfile."  

was added before we got a definitive statement (admission?) from Stephen.

I believe that it is still true that using /Za option will smoke out *some*
portability issues and may be worth a try.

Running it on all the many platforms is obviously the ultimate portability
test.

But you may be right that 'doing it right' causes more trouble than the
potential benefits.

We also don't know if the "an extremely nasty bug" is squashed in VC10, so
the advice may be out of date.

(I have also found that the /Za option causes hard-to-trace link errors if
you don't use it in all libraries).

If we change our recommendations here, we may be sentencing some groups of
users to changing that their SOPs.

If you have strong views on this, I suggest starting a new thread on this.

Paul

PS
> I began to edit the wiki page but considering the amount of text and an
example
> on the subject I thought it might be best to ask permission first. Should
I edit the
> page to be in-line with STL's suggestion or just leave it as-is?

(I've been the 'author' of this - after discussions on the list, but you are
welcome to change it - preferably after more discussions).

---
Paul A. Bristow,
Prizet Farmhouse, Kendal LA8 8AB  UK
[phone]  07714330204
pbristow_at_[hidden]