Re: [boost] BOOST_ABI_PREFIX

From: John Maddock (john_at_[hidden])
Date: 2006-12-12 04:52:12

David Abrahams wrote:
> The documentation in http://boost.org/more/separate_compilation.html
> states that:
>
>   these headers fix the ABI to the default used by the compiler, and
>   if the user attempts to compile the source with any other setting
>   then they will get compiler errors if there are any conflicts.
>
> If these headers really fix the ABI to the compiler's *default*, is
> there any point in creating all these libraries with special mangled
> names?  Does the documentation really mean to say the headers fix the
> ABI to the settings with which we build the Boost binaries (or
> something like that)?  Or have I misunderstood this whole thing?

What I was trying to say (perhaps not very well) was:

* If you're using the compiler default settings these headers have no 
effect.

* If you're not using the default settings, and the library doesn't use 
these headers you get hard to track down binary compatibitity problems.

*If you're not using the defaults, and the library does use these headers, 
then the ABI for the library gets forced to match the compilers default 
settings - the same setting we use to build the library with - and 
everything should just plain work.

John.