Re: [boost] Boost.Threads, N2178, N2184, et al

From: Peter Dimov (pdimov_at_[hidden])
Date: 2007-03-19 17:08:55

Sohail Somani wrote:

> Aside: Why do you want to bring pthreads into the mix?

Couple of reasons.

1. Some C++ committee members would like to see a C/C++ API instead of pure 
C++. This is important for mixed C/C++ code, but there's also the fact that 
the C committee is also looking at threading and will likely evaluate 
whatever is adopted by the C++ standard for eventual inclusion into C.

2. We need some platform abstraction layer. The usual approach has been to 
target Windows and Pthreads. I believe that writing a Pthread implementation 
for Windows once is a better option; this allows the higher level C++ API to 
only target a single abstract platform (arguably designed by the best in the 
field) and is (in my opinion) more maintainable in the long run.