[boost] Re: feature wish for boost 1.32.1 or 1.33.0: pkg-config support

From: David Abrahams (dave_at_[hidden])
Date: 2004-12-16 10:42:13

Jonathan Wakely wrote:

> You might have compiled Boost with a certain level of optimisation, say
> by setting GXX="g++ -O3" (for the GCC toolset) but you don't necessarily
> want to optimise your code at that level (if at all) so --cflags should
> not emit -O3. Similarly for -ansi, -pedantic, -W and other switches that
> don't affect the ABI or whether you can link to a library safely.

Just so you know, Boost.Build v2 can handle all this with something we
call usage-requirements.  It would be smart of us to have the rules that
do installation also create small Jamfiles containing the appropriate
descriptions of prebuilt targets.

The only real problem now is that there are a plethora of different
build / configuration systems out there.  Should BBv2 try to cater to
each one?  We could generate pkg-config files in addition to Jamfiles,
oh and we could generate Makefiles and autoconf files and Visual Studio
Projects and Metrowerks projects and...

I think the answer is that we (the BB maintainers) should only feel
responsible for generating the Jamfiles, and we should invite interested
parties to submit Boost.Build support for the other things.

-- 
Dave Abrahams
Boost Consulting
http://www.boost-consulting.com