[boost] Re: Customer Friendlier Boost Installation

From: David Abrahams (dave_at_[hidden])
Date: 2005-05-26 12:32:11

"Jeff Flinn" <TriumphSprint2000_at_[hidden]> writes:

> "Rene Rivera" <grafik.list_at_[hidden]> wrote in message 
> news:4295E416.6030803_at_redshift-software.com...
>> David Abrahams wrote:
>>>>and the inconsistency in naming for the VC targets:
>>>>
>>>>msvc   // VC6.5 can we add vc6_5?
>>>>vc7    // VC7   would vc7_0 be better?
>>>>vc-7_1 // VC7.1 why the dash? why not vc7_1?
>>>
>>> The dash is there for dumb reasons: we call the toolset files 
>>> <toolsetname>-tools.jam
>>>
>>> and for the purposes of building a Boost distro on CD we can't have
>>> filenames with multiple '.' characters in them, so we changed '.' to
>>> '_' in the names of things like vc-7.1-tools.jam.  But we should have
>>> changed BBv1 to allow users to type a '.' on the command-line and
>>> translate it internally when we made that change; it would be pretty
>>> easy.  As for naming consistency, yes, it would probably be better.
>>>
>>> BBv2 fixes all of these problems, and we've been reluctant to make
>>> trivial improvements in BBv1 because it's been so long anticipated
>>> that it would be retired.  Now it looks like it won't be retired until
>>> just after 1.33, so it's a toss-up whether we should do anything about
>>> it.  I'm willing to go either way.
>>
>> It's easy enough to add vc-7_0-tools.jam, and vc-6_5-tools.jam that just 
>> refer to the current files. So I think we can go ahead and do it.
>>
>> The "." to "_" translation might be harder as there a people who have 
>> their own toolsets with x.x in them. We'll have to think about that one.
>
> It just occurred to me that as an infrequent command line user, that the 
> dashes in names are intimidating because I have always thought that '-' is a 
> special character for introducing a parameter. So that makes 'vc-7_1' look 
> more complex than it may really be.

Well, I'm not willing to forego dashes in file/command names.
Underscores take an extra shift key ;-)

> Do most users ever see(or need be concerned with) what these parameters 
> eventually expand to?

I don't understand the question.

-- 
Dave Abrahams
Boost Consulting
www.boost-consulting.com