Re: [boost] Boost building with CMake

From: David Abrahams (dave_at_[hidden])
Date: 2007-05-10 09:35:16

on Wed May 09 2007, "Gennadiy Rozental" <gennadiy.rozental-AT-thomson.com> wrote:

> Let me add my 2 cents on the topic.
>
> 1. I believe CMake proponents are simply kidding
> themselves. Changing boost make system with all it's unique and
> complicated requirements to anything else would require up to half a
> year of extensive development. Even based on existing facility.

Yeah, but someone else is volunteering to do the work, so the risk to
us is minimal.

> 2. I - as build system user - do not want to know ANYTHING about native 
> build tools. I need single command that results in library compilation 
> wherever I am on.

Agreed.  How is that relevant to the CMake question?

> 3. Do we (boost developers) really have any problems with BBv2? 

Yes, I do.  I started that project, so I have a vested interest in it.
Still, I'm just about ready to stop sinking any more time into it.
Just off the top of my head:

- bjam appears to still be buggy
- bjam consumes memory without bound (a design feature)
- the build process part of bjam is inscrutable even to experts
- only one person understands how to work on the core of BBv2
- the code is inscrutable and under-documented
- that person is not writing documentation that would allow others to
  understand it
- the language in which it is written is used in no other tool or
  project, thus presenting a barrier-to-entry for volunteers.
- that person can't handle the volume of feature requests, help
  requests, and bug reports he gets.
- there appear to be unresolvable philosophical differences about the
  design future of BBv2: http://tinyurl.com/34fqko

> If more docs are required, wouldn't it be easier to write them
> instead of wasting time jumping from one build system to another?

Apparently only one person understands the system well enough to write
them, but he is unable to keep up with the pace of development.  I
think maybe you can relate to that predicament ;-)

-- 
Dave Abrahams
Boost Consulting
http://www.boost-consulting.com
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