[boost] [build] relative vs absolute

From: Yuval Ronen (ronen_yuval_at_[hidden])
Date: 2005-05-19 04:34:52

Hi all.

I have a question which is somewhat Boost-related and somewhat general.

I've looked at the build system (i.e, Jam files) and noticed that most of
time, the directories (include directories, link directories) are specified
in absolute format - $(BOOST_ROOT)/whatever. However, not all of them are
absolute. Some are relative - ../../../whatever. Other parts of the Boost
tree, such as the html files, contain relative paths.

My question is: shouldn't there be a uniform way - absolute or relative? And
if so, what would it be?

My opinion is that relative is superior, because is makes it possible to
checkout several instances of the tree (several branches, or even several
instances of head) to separate parts of the disk and work on all of them as
needed, without mangling with environment variables. What I mean is that
requiring to change environment variables is burdensome and errorprone (I
can easily execute bjam from directory X, while BOOST_ROOT points to
directory Y, which will create a disaster).

What is your opinion regarding this in repect to Boost, and in respect to
other projects in general?
Many thanks for your time,
Yuval