[boost] Possible Errors in Boost Config (mostly documentation)

From: Kevin S. Van Horn (Kevin.VanHorn_at_[hidden])
Date: 2002-11-09 18:49:38

I found some documentation problems in the Boost Configuration 
Reference, and possibly some obsolete symbols in the configuration 
headers.  These comments all apply to the boost_1_29_0 release.  Here 
are the specifics:

1. The config headers may define

  BOOST_NO_STD_WSTREAMBUF

which is not mentioned in the documentation; however, the documentation 
mentions

  BOOST_NO_STD_WSTREAM

which is not defined in any config header, but is used in

  <boost/format/format_fwd.hpp>
  libs/format/test/format_test1.cpp

2. No config header defines BOOST_HAS_PTHREAD_YIELD, although it is 
described in the documentation.  It is used in some tests and one place 
in Boost Threads.

3. BOOST_COMPILER_VERSION is defined in the config headers, but is 
undocumented and unused.

4. BOOST_DECL is defined in the config headers, but is undocumented and 
unused except in test libs/config/test/config_info.cpp.

5. BOOST_HAS_MPTASKS is defined in the config headers, but is 
undocumented.  It is used only in Boost Threads.

6. BOOST_NO_CWTYPE is defined in the config headers, but is undocumented 
and unused.

7. BOOST_STD_EXTENSION_NAMESPACE is defined in the config headers and 
widely used, but is undocumented.

8. The documentation states, in guidelines to Boost authors,

"Boost files that use macros defined in <boost/config.hpp> should have 
sensible, standard conforming, default behavior if the macro is not 
defined. This means that the starting point for porting 
<boost/config.hpp> to a new platform is simply to define nothing at all 
specific to that platform. In the rare case where there is no sensible 
default behavior, an #error message should describe the problem."

Aren't there some macros, such as BOOST_STATIC_CONSTANT, 
BOOST_USE_FACET, BOOST_NESTED_TEMPLATE, etc., that you can count on 
always being defined to something, even on (the mythical) fully 
standard-conforming platforms?

---------------------------------------------------------
Kevin S. Van Horn, Ph.D.        | kvanhorn_at_[hidden]
Kevin S. Van Horn & Associates  | www.ksvanhorn.com