Re: [boost] Report from Berlin C++ Standards Committee meeting

From: Beman Dawes (bdawes_at_[hidden])
Date: 2006-04-11 17:43:56

"Peter Dimov" <pdimov_at_[hidden]> wrote in message 
news:005701c65d76$40d9d6a0$6407a8c0_at_pdimov2...
> Beman Dawes wrote:
>
>> The C++ Standards Committee met last week in Berlin, Germany. Of
>> interest to Boosters:
>
> Thank you for the extensive report.
>
> I have one question that will help me (and possibly others) prioritize
> things better for October.
>
>> * All of TR1 except special functions has been voted into C++0x, the
>> next standard.
>
> What is the general procedure for evolving TR1 (now 0x) components 
> further,
> and in particular, what is the fate of N1851, "Improving Usability and
> Performance of TR1 Smart Pointers", especially the allocator support
> section?

In addition to Howard's reply, keep in mind that part of the purpose of a TR 
is to gain experience with a component so that it can be further improved 
before being standardized. Thus everyone expects and welcomes further 
improvements TR1 components as they move into the Standard Library..

Mechanically, if it is a small improvement, write it up as a library issue, 
and send it to either comp.std.c++ or directly to Howard. If it is larger, 
write a paper, get a document number from Clark Nelson, and send it to him 
to be included in the next committee mailing.

> In other words, should we spend significant time on improving (for 
> example)
> shared_ptr, or should we focus on new, TR2 things, now that 
> std::shared_ptr
> is almost set in stone?

Try to strike a balance between doing both. The October deadline for TR2 
proposals does not require every i to be dotted and t to be crossed. If a 
proposal is in pretty good shape, and the LWG likes it, you will have a year 
or more to submit revisions polishing any weak areas or fixing minor 
problems. Also note that names of Boosters such as Peter Dimov, John 
Maddock, or other long time contributors carry a lot of weight with the LWG.

--Beman