Re: [boost] Math constants for naive and gurus? - which constants do you want?

From: Beman Dawes (bdawes_at_[hidden])
Date: 2001-10-25 11:19:24

At 05:14 PM 10/23/01 -0600, Greg Colvin wrote:

 >The only problems I see with the template function approach is
 >the extra typing:
 >
 >    v = pi
 >
 >is certainly easier than
 >
 >    v = constant<pi_tag,double>
 >
 >but it is not amenable to more precise implementations.
 >
 >How about a compromise:
 >
 >    v = pi<double>()
 >
 >and so on for all the other constants?  I think this can be
 >made to work with even the most brain-dead compilers.

Please do not make any design decisions for math constants based on 
brain-dead compilers.

I'm writing this from the C++ committee meeting.  Compiler vendor after 
compiler vendor is stating publicly that the Boost libraries have become so 
important that they are being added to the vendor's regression tests. 
Customers are demanding that 100% of the tests pass. The critical mass 
demand we all dreamed about actually seems to be happening.

The exact form of the constants will be very, very important in user 
decisions to use the library, and committee decisions to add the library to 
the C++ standard.  Please don't make compromises for broken compilers.

--Beman