Re: [boost] What is MPL anyway?

From: David Abrahams (dave_at_[hidden])
Date: 2003-01-09 08:56:31

Martijn van der Lee <martijn_at_[hidden]> writes:

> Hi,
>
> I've been following the discussion on a HelloWorld for the MPL
> framework with great interrest, in the hope of understanding what
> this MPL thing really is, sadly enough, I am no further than I was a
> week ago.

Why don't you take a look at http://www.mywikinet.com/mpl/ and see
what you can learn?

You might also look at
http://www.crystalclearsoftware.com/cgi-bin/boost_wiki/wiki.pl?Effective_MPL

> Could anybody please explain what MPL is

It's a C++ template metaprogramming framework

> what it does, why I should wish to use it, when I should use it and
> why it is better than the alternative solutions that may exist for
> the problems the MPL was meant to solve?

There are lots of reasons to use it, chief among them that it is the
first coherent framework for template metaprogramming with carefully
considered abstractions.

> Is there any problem for which MPL is the ideal (if not the only) 
> solution and are there cases in which MPL is a clear winner over 
> standard C++ code?

No library or system ever provides the *only* solution to a problem.
There are plenty of cases where it's a clear winner over programming
"with the bare metal" of C++.  See the paper at the link above for a
few examples.

-- 
                       David Abrahams
   dave_at_[hidden] * http://www.boost-consulting.com
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