Re: Boost algorithm library (Was: [boost] New upload: algorithm.zip 1)

From: Vesa Karvonen (vesa.karvonen_at_[hidden])
Date: 2001-07-25 16:10:51

From: <helmut.zeisel_at_[hidden]>
> --- In boost_at_y..., "Fernando Cacciola" <fcacciola_at_g...> wrote:
> > The range interface is a *very* powerful abstraction, much much
> better than
> > the abstraction of an (encapsulated) container.
[...]
> IMHO, they did the right thing by providing
> the range interface since it is indeed the best abstraction.
[...]

Be careful while performing dimensionless qualitative analysis of
abstractions.

It seems to me that it is impossible to enumerate the complete set of
abstractions that support a particular non empty set of algorithms. If this is
true, then one should have a very good theoretical model of the set of
algorithms before some supporting abstraction should be named best.

Functional languages (e.g. Haskell) and OO languages that support closures
(e.g. Smalltalk), have very different, but also very powerful and natural ways
to abstract enumeration/traversal.