Re: [boost] Any interest in a framework for memoization?

Subject: Re: [boost] Any interest in a framework for memoization?
From: Erik Erlandson (eje_at_[hidden])
Date: 2013-12-14 13:19:52

----- Original Message -----

> 
>  > I can only say that I'd like to see library like that in boost but I'm
>  > afraid this is not my decision.
> Thank you, Piotr. It appears there is no such interest, at the moment.

Specific to here and now, I assume that the migration to github is occupying a lot of spare cycles in the community.

In my opinion, memoization seems like a useful capability.  I have no particular application for it on my to-do list, but having used memoization in prolog before, it seems like the sort of thing I might someday find myself wishing were in boost.

IMO, proposals like this fall into a certain category, that might get less traction because if you randomly selected 1000 programmers, only a handful (at most) would have an application needing the proposed library.   I think my current proposal for edit_distance/edit_alignment is also in this category.  So is the handful of 'tree' proposals.   Most applications simply don't need it   Finding the people with the right combination of knowledge/interest in Boost, plus the domain knowledge to give good feedback, is tricky.

And yet... when you want it, you want it :)

I'm not sure what the answer to that quandary is.   It's not like boost has none of these.   Quaternion/Octonion come to mind as an example.

I've seen other projects (e.g. octopress) that maintain a page of "notable 3rd-party contributions", that aren't in the official project, but can be used as a resource for people interested in capability-X that isn't in the official distribution.   

Alternatively, the new github library organization will allow for people to maintain customized library forks, so that is a possible avenue.  For example, once the dust clears, I could fork boost::algorithm and maintain my own version that includes edit_distance.   Periodically merge in the official version, etc.