Re: [boost] Re: Re: Adding Loki to Boost (reprise)

From: joel de guzman (djowel_at_[hidden])
Date: 2002-04-11 19:35:54

"Aleksey Gurtovoy" <agurtovoy_at_[hidden]> wrote in message news:a9553r$qk0$1_at_main.gmane.org...
> Andrei Alexandrescu wrote:

> > the following code implements count_if, in a slightly terser manner (it
> also
> > relies on first principles only - there's no core infrastructure to

[snip]

> The above implementation is useless for 'tiny_list' (and any type sequence
> we use here at work).

This emphasizes my point. Writing an algorithm in MPL is not as 
straightforward. It relies on intimate knowledge of some basic 
infrastructure to do well. On the other hand, STL relies almost 
solely on "first principles only".

Now this is is not a bad thing, considering the power MPL gives.
And considering too that the C++ template metaprocessor was not
designed as an FP language.

However, extra effort must be provided by the MPL author(s) to make 
writing MPL algorithms as user friendly as possible. At this point,
it seems that the interface to the authoring of MPL algorithms is tied
to its implementation. When I want to write an algorithm, I wish not
to be bothered by implementation details as much as possible.
After all, algorithms are the central point in MPL.

Cheers,
--Joel