Re: [boost] [signals] msvc-6.5 failures

From: Bo Persson (bop_at_[hidden])
Date: 2006-12-04 12:30:39

Moshe Matitya wrote:
> Bo Persson wrote:
>>
>> Moshe Matitya wrote:
>>> Vladimir Prus wrote:
>>>>
>>>> There are four failures of the signals library on
>> msvc-6.5, like this
>>>> ...
>>>
>>> Pardon my ignorance, but what exactly is MSVC 6.5?  I see
>> that there
>>> is a column for it in the regression test tables, but I don't know
>>> what it refers to.  I am not aware of any compiler release from
>>> Microsoft with this number.  These are all the C++ compiler
>> releases
>>> from Microsoft since 1998, as far as I know:
>>>
>>> Release     IDE                         Compiler        Internal
>>> _MSC_VER
>>> Year        Name                        version         version
>>> value
>>> -------     ----                        --------        --------
>>> --------
>>> 1998        Visual Studio 6.0           Visual C++ 6.0  12.0
>>> 1200 2002        Visual Studio .NET          Visual C++ 7.0  13.0
>>> 1300 2003        Visual Studio .NET 2003     Visual C++ 7.1  13.1
>>> 1310 2005        Visual Studio 2005          Visual C++ 8.0  14.0
>>> 1400
>>>
>>> When was there a release called 6.5?
>>
>> No there was not. It is just a common name for VC 6.0 with 5
>> Service Packs added.
>
> This is not an advisable convention to use.

True. I didn't invent it.  :-)

The numbering scheme is a result of the marketing department. With version 
4.x we got quarterly point releases, which some MS customers couldn't 
handle. So they changed that to a fixed base release, and a series of 
service packs. Same shit, new name.

> It should be referred
> to explicitly as MSVC 6.0 SP5.  Otherwise, there is no way to
> distinguish between point releases and service packs.  For example,
> how would one understand, "MSVC 7.1"?  This might mean compiler
> version 7.1 (i.e.,
> Visual Studio .NET 2003), or it might mean compiler version 7.0
> (the one
> from 2002) with service pack 1.

Isn't that the same thing? I believe it is.

We might have a problem with VC 7.1 SP1 though.

>
> While we're on the subject:  Why are we testing Boost on MSVC 6.0
> with
> SP5?  The most up-to-date service pack for that compiler is SP6.

Because version 6.5 (6.0 SP5 :-) is the most widely used?

The SP6 came in *very* late.

Bo Persson