Re: [boost] Permanently retire VC++ 6?

From: Alisdair Meredith (alisdair.meredith_at_[hidden])
Date: 2005-12-06 16:26:55

David Abrahams wrote:

> Good question.
> 
>      ** what is GCC2 support? **
> 
>      ** what would withdrawing it -- assuming we currently offer it --
>         mean for users? **

Whay it would mean to me, without putting on any
user/maintainer/whatever hat, is that the release manager takes it out
the list of compilers that must pass regression tests before a new
Boost distribution can be released.  Current support means that OSL3
runs these tests during a release cycle so maintainers can track/fix
bugs on a compiler they may not have installed, or approriately mark up
the XML.  It improves the chances of customers concerned about
supporting that compiler submitting patches.

I have an implicit assumption that if a compiler is 'supported' during
a release cycle, library maintainers will accept and process
workarounds for compilers they do not have access to themselves, when
submitted.

Taking it off this list would leave me wondering if patches would or
would not be accepted.

If a maintainer is no longer accecpting patches for a compiler, I would
recommend marking the library unsupported on that platform too, for
regression tests - even if the library is still in a usable state.
That would be a new guideline though, not part of Boost practices today.

All my own opinion and of course, inferring meaning from existing
non-documented practice.

-- 
AlisdairM