Re: [boost] asio networking proposal 0.3.4

From: Beman Dawes (bdawes_at_[hidden])
Date: 2005-10-16 20:05:20

"Christopher Kohlhoff" <chris_at_[hidden]> wrote in message 
news:20051015131343.27549.qmail_at_web32609.mail.mud.yahoo.com...
> Hello all,
>
> I have just released asio 0.3.4. You can download it, or view the
> documentation online, at http://asio.sourceforge.net.
>
> The major changes in this version include support for scatter-gather
> operations, an initial SSL implementation, and documentation
> improvements including an HTTP 1.0 server example. Code that uses asio
> will need to be updated.
>
> It is my feeling that there are no more major interface changes to be
> made, and my next goal is to convert asio into "Boost format" in
> preparation for a submission. Feedback is appreciated.
> ...

Looks like you have made a lot of forward progress!

There are still some void *'s in the public interface. The io_control 
helpers have data() members returning void *'s, for example.

Any chance of wringing out the non-memory management void *'s before a 
submission? I know it sounds picky, but a lot of C++ programmers object 
strongly to void * in public interfaces for anything except the rawest of 
raw memory management.

I also wonder if the interface could be thinned without reducing 
functionality. For example, could buffer() and buffers() be folded into one 
function, or at least overloads with the same name. Likewise, could the 12 
free read/write functions be reduced to 2 names (presumably read/write) or 4 
names (presumably read, async_read, write, async_write) via folding and/or 
overloading?. Am I the only one who feels the large number of names makes 
the interface appear more complex than it really is?

Keep up the good work,

--Beman