Re: [boost] Release Tools Analysis Part I: Build systems

From: David Abrahams (dave_at_[hidden])
Date: 2007-08-05 12:13:03

on Sun Aug 05 2007, Stefan Seefeld <seefeld-AT-sympatico.ca> wrote:

> FWIW, I submitted a patch to SCons providing a python extension
> module around ucpp (http://pornin.nerim.net/ucpp/) to provide a
> 'more accurate' C/C++ dependency scanner, long before wave was around.

Does anyone know if ucpp is actually conforming?  Until very recently,
most preprocessors were badly broken (and maybe most still are).  If
it conforms, it would be interesting to benchmark it against Wave.

> Steven refused that, believing that it could (and should) all be done
> in pure python. 

Well, with a great deal of due respect to Steven, he's wrong.  Sure it
/can/ be done in pure python, but /should/ it be?  Before we had
insane C++ template metaprograms, the cost of preprocessing and lexing
typically swamped that of any other C/C++ compilation phase, just
because they had to deal with more data (individual characters).  And
now we have insane preprocessor metaprograms, so things have not
gotten any easier on the C/C++ preprocessor.

> That was many years ago, and the situation hasn't substantially
> changed since then.

Sounds familiar.

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