[boost] Re: Customer Friendlier Boost Installation

From: David Abrahams (dave_at_[hidden])
Date: 2005-05-31 11:13:46

"Reece Dunn" <msclrhd_at_[hidden]> writes:

> David Abrahams wrote:
>>"Hendrik Schober" <SpamTrap_at_[hidden]> writes:
>> > David Abrahams <dave_at_[hidden]> wrote:
>> >> [...]
>> >> >> >   Um, what are targets?
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Standard build-system-eze for "element of the build dependency
>> graph."
>> >> >> These messages are inherited from jam; should we remove them?
>> >> >
>> >> >   I don't think so. But maybe some explanation in
>> >> >   the docs (in non-build-system-eze) of what they
>> >> >   are would be good.
>> >>
>> >> Why shouldn't the tool output messages in non-build-system-ese? [...]
>> >
>> >   Oh it should. I didn't say anything against that,
>> >   did I?
>>
>>Well, no, but telling you that we found 4471 targets and we're
>>updating 1123 of them has to be more cryptic than helpful!
>
> It gives you an indication that there were errors, 

No, that's my point; it doesn't.  Only 3 of those it found didn't get
built.  You'd still see two different numbers if everything went
right.

>>we should tell you the names of the targets we can't find, right?
>
> It would also be usefil to list the targets that failed to build as a 
> summary without the targets that the failing targets are dependant upon 
> (i.e. don't display the skipped targets in the summary).

>> >   I suggest "stage" to be either removed or better
>> >   explained.
>>
>>I agree.  I think I still don't really understand the differences
>>between stage and install.
>
> A stage is what happens as part of the build process. For example,
> the GCC build process is split into stages, building a version of
> the compiler that is then used to build the next stage. For the
> Boost build process, stage is used to create the libraries only so
> you can use the headers provided in your Boost distribution.

That's not a very descriptive name, IMO, and I don't see the analogy
to the GCC build stages (with which I am familiar).

> An install is what happend when the build succeeds, allowing you to
> place the results into a common distribution directory. This will
> also include other files that are required (e.g. language
> files). The Boost build process copies the header files into the
> directory you are installing to as well as building the libraries so
> that directory is like standard SDK/library distributions.
>
> Summing up: use stage if you want to use the headers from the place you 
> extracted Boost to; use install if you want to use the directory where the 
> library files are built to.

That's simple enough; we should put that description in the getting
started guide.

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