[boost] [variant] Important: alignment issue

From: Eric Friedman (ebf_at_[hidden])
Date: 2003-11-30 02:21:26

For some time now, variant_test5 has been failing under the Borland 
compilers. It was not until recently that I determined why.

There problem is an alignment issue. I don't know whether the cause is 
with the Borland compilers, the code for variant, the code for 
alignment_of/type_with_alignment, or something else. Worse, I don't have 
enough free time before the 1.31 release to really dive into this issue.

Fortunately I have devised a temporary solution: I have found that using 
maximal alignment fixes the problem. (Currently, variant calculates the 
minimal needed alignment for its storage so as to minimize variant data 
size.) Accordingly, I plan to apply this as a temporary fix when 
compiling under Borland.

My question: do I apply this temporary fix under *all* compilers?

My belief is that doing so would be unnecessary, and I know that it 
would result in larger variants. On the other hand, if the problem is 
*not* Borland-specific, then it would be critically important to have 
this fix.

Please help me decide.

Thanks,
Eric