Re: [boost] Re: sockets /network programming Requirements

From: Iain.Hanson_at_[hidden]
Date: 2001-07-31 11:20:58

Author:  williamkempf (williamkempf_at_[hidden]) at unix,mime
Date:    30/07/01 20:19

>I'm interested in this library, and if help is needed I'll lend what 
>ever time I can spare.  My comments on the document:

Thanks. All help is greatly appreciated.
     
>* Exceptions should not be used for precondition violations. 
>Assertions and/or error returns should be used instead in this 
>case.

Why? I would not be inclined to use error returns for precondition 
violation. I've not seen much of a discussion of assertion v 
exceptions, however, I would be inclined to use assertions for 
static preconditions and would prefer to generate a compile time 
error. But for dynamic preconditions I owuld use an exception so 
that the user can take some recovery action. 

[snip]
     
>* One thing I often see done wrong when it comes to "reducing 
>preconditions" is overloading methods that connect a socket for 
>numerous ways of specifying the address/port pair.  There should be 
>two seperate object types, InetAddress and InetPort (pick your name 
>for these) that can be constructed with the various options such as 
>URL, IP, friendly name, etc.  The connection routines should only 
>take these as parameters.  This vastly simplifies much of the user 
>coding, as well as maintenance required if some new way of 
>specifying these comes into existence later.

I had planned to have an address type but I'm not sure that we need a 
port type. A port is a Transport Selector and is usually an integral 
type. I agree that address will be constructable in many differing 
ways and that a connection would only be creatable with an address.
     
>* I don't think FTP, HTTP or other protocol client/server classes 
>should even be considered for inclusion, at least in a first 
>submission.

I think these, and other applications level protocols would make a 
useful addition to boost. They would need to be built ontop of the 
other layer(s) and I don't plan to look to closely at them any time 
in the near future. Except perhaps as examples of applications that 
should be *relatively* easy to implemnt with this library.

/ikh

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