Re: [boost] Boost libraries after C++0x acceptance

From: Arkadiy Vertleyb (vertleyb_at_[hidden])
Date: 2006-10-10 22:48:47

"Jeff Garland" <jeff_at_[hidden]> wrote
> Arkadiy Vertleyb wrote:
> > "Jeff Garland" <jeff_at_[hidden]> wrote
> >
> >> At the end of the story, it may be that the committee can never do
enough
> >> because languages like Java have libraries that are so extensive and so
> >> deeply
> >> funded that C++ can never compete with volunteer labor.
> >
> > The major problem IMO is that the "volunteer labor" inevitably prefers
> > development for fun to commercially-justified development.  This drives
> > inovation, but hurts competition.  Where are sockets, database access,
etc.?
>
> Well, I suppose.  In the cases you mention, I think these are just harder
> problems.  These are hard enough that it's best to have a group and groups
are
> harder than single programmers.  That said, these are in the pipeline :-)
>
> http://asio.sourceforge.net/
> http://soci.sourceforge.net/
>

Right, in the pipeline...  just 8 years after Boost was started :-(

OTOH, we do have two (!) great regular expression libraries...

Can you imagine something like this happenning to Java or C#?

IMHO, it's not about not having enough libraries.  It's just about not
having those particular libraries that are considered most important by the
corporate world.

The problem is that C++ and, let's say, Java exist in two different
dimensions.  Java is a product of commercial world, so in the commercial
world it is playing on its own territory.  Java is developed to be
commercially successfull.

C++ (at it's current state) is a totaly different animal.  It's mostly being
developed by the non-commercial entities, like the standard committee, open
source movement, etc.  So it almost looks like a volonteer research project.
And as such, there is a great amount of inovation, but not a lot of ability
to compete in the commercial world.  Open source is just designed to deliver
certain kind of libraries, but not another...  So, in the corporate world, I
think, C++ is rapidly loosing it's ground.  It is still strong, but mostly
because of huge amount of legacy code.  A lot of new development is being
started in either C# or Java.

This is a shame, IMO.  I do believe that C++ is a much better language...

Interestingly, I think recently C++ received some boost from the commercial
world.  This happened when MSFT (for whatever reason) decided to revamp
their C++ compiler.  Just try to imagine where C++ community would be now
without VC7.1/8.0...

I think both inovation and commercial development are equally important.
C++ currently has a lot of inovation, but that's it.  Because of this it's
loosing the competition.  The only way out IMO is to somehow exploit
whatever commercial interest in C++ there exist out there.  I have no idea
how to achieve this and whether it is possible at all, but if this doesn't
happen we will all need to switch to C# or Java (at least to earn our
living) in not so distant future :-(

Regards,
Arkadiy