Non-blocking I/O

From: pinkfloydhomer_at_[hidden]
Date: 2001-03-03 10:13:33

Hello there.

Would a non-blocking I/O library addition be off topic in Boost, or 
wouldn't it?

I have an idea that one could make a stream class conforming to the 
standard library, but with the possiblity of certain non-blocking 
operations. IMO the standard library is lacking an abstraction of the 
many (logical or physical) devices that supports non-blocking I/O.

I've heard arguments about it not being generic enough, because non-
blocking I/O is not available in all circumstances (e.g. some 
embedded systems etc.), but we already have a 'new' operator that 
might not allocate memory if none is available, the concept of 
a "file", although many embedded systems don't have files in the 
normal sense. In other words, many ANSI C++ programs (including a 
simple hello world program), would compile just fine on, say, a 
microwave oven, but wouldn't make much sense, just as it wouldn't 
make any sense to compile my ANSI compliant chess program on this 
microwave oven...

So, would such a library be a good idea, or what? Does something of 
the kind already exist?