Re: [Boost-build] bug in build-system.jam autoconfigure ?

From: David Abrahams (dave_at_[hidden])
Date: 2007-03-19 16:22:46

on Fri Feb 23 2007, Roland Schwarz <roland.schwarz-AT-chello.at> wrote:

> The "Autoconfigure" code in build-system.jam has the behaviour to strip the 
> version apart from the toolset. The code strips everything to the right of the 
> first hyphen to be the version.
>
> I.e.:
>          local (t-v,t,v) = [ MATCH (([^-/]+)-?([^/]+)?)/?.* : $(t) ] ;
>
> This has the consequence, that it is impossible to put subfeatures into build 
> requests on the commandline:
>
> bjam toolset=gcc-3.4.4-mingw
>
> tries to register a new version of the gcc toolset instead of recognizing it as 
> a subfeature (i.e. flavor) of the gcc toolset.
>
> The following request (which skips the autoconfigure) instead works:
>
> bjam gcc-3.4.4-mingw
>
> Is this by intent or is it a bug?

It's a bug, I guess.  When I implemented autoconfigure, I didn't know
about the existence of the <flavor> feature, *and* I was operating
under the assumption (based on having been part of the original BBv2
design team) that users were allowed to make up arbitrary version
names when registering a toolset.  I guess the special on-the-fly
toolset subfeature described at
http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.lib.boost.devel/154521/focus=15181
should really be the flavor feature.

I guess the questions now are:

1. How can I parse the name of a toolset that may not yet have been
   registered, like gcc-3.4.4-mingw?

2. When are we going to implement
   http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.lib.boost.devel/154521/focus=15181?

-- 
Dave Abrahams
Boost Consulting
www.boost-consulting.com