Re: Mother of all Variants

From: Nevin Liber (nevin_at_[hidden])
Date: 2019-07-02 16:18:32

On Thu, Jun 27, 2019 at 7:41 PM Robert Ramey via Boost <
boost_at_[hidden]> wrote:

> Here you've exactly hit on the motivation for mother of all variants.
>
> It should be clear by now that as library developers we cannot correctly
> anticipate the needs and desires of our potential users and at the same
> time document the rational and restrictions of the particular variant in
> question.

That is true about every type in existence.  Variant is not special in this
regard.

And if "we cannot correctly anticipate the needs and desires of our
potential users", policies also "cannot correctly
anticipate the needs and desires of our potential users" either.  Policies
do not solve this problem.

So, why conflate all these different behaviors into one template type?
Normally, it is to handle things generically, but if they have different
behaviors, you cannot handle them generically.  It's the vector<bool>
problem all over again.

>  that is what I'm suggesting is possible and that some ambitious person
> undertake to accomplish.
>

As always in any volunteer organization, if you are the one who thinks it
is important, you are the one that needs to start doing the work.
-- 
 Nevin ":-)" Liber  <mailto:nevin_at_[hidden] <nevin_at_[hidden]>>
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