Re: [boost] [1.36.0] Libraries with unmerged changes?

From: Emil Dotchevski (emil_at_[hidden])
Date: 2008-07-16 02:54:08

On Tue, Jul 15, 2008 at 10:31 PM, David Abrahams <dave_at_[hidden]> wrote:
>>> On Tue, Jul 15, 2008 at 5:52 PM, Robert Ramey <ramey_at_[hidden]> wrote:
>>> You're making a big assumption here, which is that the breaking
>>> change is a bug.
>>
>> LOL - I call it a bug - you can call it a feature.  Regardless,  it is an
>> (unannounced)
>> interface change.
>
> Whether it's announced or not matters a lot, but in this conversation
> both you and Emil have consistently failed to make a distinction AFAICT.

Let's say that the interface of boost::filesystem::remove changes from
returning bool to returning nothing (void). In this case:

- Can we label the change a bug, simply because it's a "breaking" change?

- Don't we want to detect related failures ASAP, as opposed to waiting
until the change gets merged in the release branch?

- What difference does it make whether or not the change was "announced"?

Emil Dotchevski
Reverge Studios, Inc.
http://www.revergestudios.com/reblog/index.php?n=ReCode