[boost] Re: Changes with new release

From: Edward Diener (eddielee_at_[hidden])
Date: 2003-07-19 13:38:00

Peter Dimov wrote:
> Edward Diener wrote:
>> Once again I will make my request that Boost library developers put
>> out some sort of change log explaining changes made to the library
>> with each new release of Boost which is issued. While I don't expect
>> detailed change enumerations, which no doubt can be retrieved through
>> CVS in some way, a general explanation of the changes made would be
>> enormously helpful to end users and 3rd developers who use Boost
>> libraries.
>
> I like the idea in principle, but perhaps we should use an automated
> tool like
>
>   http://www.red-bean.com/cvs2cl/
>
> to produce the change log?

My only objection to that is not that it will not produce the necessary CVS
information, but that it will not produce a good overview of the changes. I
would still like to see library implementors explain from an implementors
point of view any more general changes in functionality. If this is going to
be in a CVS log, perhaps as comments in the source, I think that is fine.
But more often than not, I think the CVS log will not show these things, and
to have users of Boost libraries poring through CVS change logs to see what
actual functionality has changed seems like information at the wrong level
for many. The CVS log will be a boon for 3rd party developers who use Boost
libraries in their own implementations.

Is it really so hard for a library implementor, who has made changes in how
his library works between releases, to write a paragraph or a page
explaining the change(s) in functionality so that others can see where the
library is going and what new or different usage it entails ? If I were a
library implementor, whether Boost or otherwise, I would want to explain my
ideas to the outside world as a way of promoting good technology.