[boost] Re: Interesting Boost Implementation Details?

From: David Abrahams (dave_at_[hidden])
Date: 2005-01-07 16:10:00

Brian Braatz wrote:
>What is cool is THIS PAGE:
> 
> http://tinyurl.com/3khbu
> 
> What stood out about it was THIS ONE PAGE would have saved me many many
> hours had it been in the original Lambda docs. Because it describes for
> me, how to "think" about the currying.

Unfortunately this page confuses currying with partial function
application as I explain here:

http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Cookbook/Python/Recipe/52549

and also in this thread: http://tinyurl.com/4tgez

> My advice to you is to find a way, in your presentation of the boost
> internals, to make sure that you thread it such that the people watching
> "can think about it". 

I always try.

> If you establish this early on, you will have an
> excited audience and you will (hopefully) get more people to use boost.
> 
> 
> Detailed Suggestions:
> * the pics in the above link are conceptually excellent for describing
> how to think about currying. 

Err, partial application.

> If you can accomplish something along the
> same lines with the techniques you are going to show, then you will
> really knock em dead.
> 
> * Boost internals is an excellent subject matter, I think if you first
> hit common concepts- and THEN delve into those concepts and how the
> internals of the library(ies) use that concept you will give people
> something they can use.

I've noticed that many of the bigger-named speakers seem to dwell on the
weird corners of C++ rather than making it understandable.  People are
left thinking "C++ is weird" rather than understanding its logic and
feeling powerful using it.  Audiences seem to eat it up, though.  Or at
least they keep going back for more punishment ;-). Most of my talks try
to eschew curiosities and details and instead concentrate on the
conceptual and fundamental.

This one, however, is explicitly intended to look at details.  That
said, I will of course be putting things in context.  I just feel
compelled that way ;-)

> * in a previous mail I made the suggestion, which I will make again. Try
> to think of the most important techniques the boost libraries depend on,
> get them in peoples heads, and then delve into the internals.

??? Hm.  Those techniques _are_ the internals.

> * a technique I have seen used in the mags, is to decompose the
> templates, I.e. show what the code looks like after the compiler has
> gone through the generation steps.
> 
> * hopefully my suggestions, though not exactly what you asked for, will
> be of some use to you.

I'll keep that in mind.

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