Re: [boost] thoughts on logging library: orthogonal runtime configuration

From: brass goowy (brass_at_[hidden])
Date: 2008-04-10 17:11:04

Steven Watanabe writes:
>AMDG
>
>brass goowy wrote:
>>
>> This is a good example of the need for compilers that output the code they 
>> generate based on templates. If they did that, the library writer could 
>> have an online service that spits out the final deliverable rather than 
>> users having to maintain different versions of a library.
>
>I don't understand the advantage over preprocessor configuration.
>I don't really want to have to have a separate boost distribution
>every time I want a different configuration.
>
>> It is a slow 
>> and error prone process to rebuild a library/application as suggested here.
>> Alternatively, service providers would have logging versions of their code available
>> for users in the field, in effect eliminating the long and unproductive process of 
>> a rebuild.
>
>How is this any better than just providing pre-built binaries.

I think the follow through on pre-built binaries that would be needed is more
than the release team currently delivers.  It would require branching out to the
library level (I think the pre-builts are mostly of the whole of Boost) and then
multiplying that times primary configuration options such as logging/non-logging.
And then multiplying that total by the various platforms.  That gets to be too much 
work with the various platforms around.   The situation could be simplified by 
having  a compiler that applies user code against a library and outputs fully 
instantiated source code.   That seems like it would minimize the platform dimension 
in the equation.  The compiler I'm talking about would be strong in terms of
it's implementation of the language and some/most of the platform related 
preprocessing wouldn't be needed.    This approach might make it easier to
push  C++0x functionality to more platforms without the various compiler
implementors having to each incorporate support for all of the changes required 
by the standard.

Brian Wood
Ebenezer Enterprises
www.webEbenezer.net