Re: [boost] Removing vector<bool>

From: Peter Dimov (pdimov_at_[hidden])
Date: 2002-06-13 05:41:36

From: "Pete Becker" <petebecker_at_[hidden]>
> At 09:23 AM 6/13/2002 +1000, Matthew Wilson wrote:
>
> >It seems like a good idea to just remove it from the next version of the
> >standard if there are no significant (or vocal) users of it
>
> Standards are about stability. The only thing that could be done along
this
> line would be to deprecate it in the next version of the standard, thus
> warning people that it might go away in the subsequent version of the
> standard.

From: "Howard Hinnant" <hinnant_at_[hidden]>
>
> Yes, I know of Metrowerks customers who use it, and depend on it being a
> packed bit representation.

The real question is: are there customers that use vector<T> in a generic
algorithm and depend on the fact that, when T = bool, they get something
that is radically different from the other vector instantiations?

The problem is not that vector<bool> is useless; the problem is that it
shadows the legitimate vector<bool> instantiation, and there is no way to
get that back. It should be renamed, not deprecated or removed.