[boost] Re: [Filesystem] Feature Request: One more implementation using.NET

From: Edward Diener (eddielee_at_[hidden])
Date: 2005-04-02 16:15:39

Pavel Chikulaev wrote:
>> Dear all,
>>
>> IMO in C++ .NET it's not good idea to use "windows.h"'s plain C
>> functions because someday Microsoft will call them all deprecated or
>> current implementation will not allow make client's code purely
>> managed. .NET implementation of boost::filesystem will make usage of
>> library more safe.
>>
>> Plus, .NET implementaion will possibly work on other platforms than
>> Windows
>> where such classes are available. Actually I don't know any, but I
>> believe Microsoft or somebody else will find a way to do it.
>>
>> So, may be add one more implementation?
>> Sooner or later it should be done.

Adding an implementation of any Boost library to .net means rewriting at
least some of that library in managed C++ for net 1.0 or 1.1 or for C++/CLI
for net 1.2 . I know that managed C++ has no template support ( and under an
NDA I can not disclose anything I know about .net 1.2 that is not public
knowledge ) so basically you are asking that the FileSystem library be
written completely without the use of templates.

Furthermore all C++ modules in net 1.0 and net 1.1 are subject to the DLL
initialization bug if those modules are created as a .NET assembly using
mixed mode C++. Mixed mode C++ involves any C++ code which uses the C++
standard library or the windows API. This bug can occur at any time and
crash the end-user's application and has nothing to do with the programmer's
code, thus essentially destroying all mixed-mode C++ programming of
assemblies for .net 1.0 and .net 1.1. Nor is there any sure workaround for
this bug. This is all well-documented by Microsoft. So the only real
alternative for C++ programmers writing assembles for .net 1.0 and .net 1.1
are to write pure mode managed C++, which is vastly different in many
respects from standard C++ which Boost promotes.

Given these truths it would be exceedingly foolish for Boost, or for the
Boost Filesystem, to be developed for .net as it now exists.