[boost] Trying to make an all-Boost header/library

From: Daryle Walker (darylew_at_[hidden])
Date: 2008-08-24 14:46:33

I started out making a group Boost project for Xcode, so I can  
compile Boost.Test and S11N just once and include them in my other  
projects.  Then I wondered how far can I take this.

1.  I tried including all the sources in the libs/ directory.
2.  It seems that there is source code in the detail, function-types,  
and smart_ptr that we don't really need, so I've now excluded it.   
(The function-types one needed the Wave _tool_ to be created, so I  
really hope it's not needed.)
3.  Just like Linux has various package installers (apt-get, etc.),  
so does Mac OS X.  I originally had Fink, but switched to MacPorts.   
Dowloaded packages include: bzip2, docbook, doxygen, expat, fop,  
ghostscript, graphviz, icu, libxml1, openmpi, subversion, texlive,  
and zlib.
4.  I generally have one static library file for each Boost library.   
For libraries that need another, I made the corresponding targets  
dependencies, but I didn't link the results together.
5.  The test library gets three static libraries.  They all include a  
"main" or something like it, so I'll probably make a custom fourth  
library for a grand Boost library file.
6.  The graph library has extra support for Expat, which I included  
from MacPorts.  Should I leave that out for a publicly distributed  
grand Boost library file, since I can't guarantee a general user  
having it?
7.  The iostreams library has extra support for bzip2 and zlib, which  
I originally included from MacPorts.  I realized that my system (Mac  
OS X 10.4, PowerPC) includes copies of those libraries and headers,  
so I switched to those.  This means that I can safely include them in  
a grand Boost library, right?
8.  I left out the long-double versions of the math functions because  
they're disabled on my system.  Should I try (conditionally?)  
including them on Intel-builds since I think they're supported  
there?  How do I do that?
9.  I have the MPI library built because I have OpenMPI through  
MacPorts.  Should I leave that out of a grand Boost library?
10. For the Python library, I tried connecting to the OS's  
Python.framework.
11. Because of [9] and [10], I made the MPI-Python library too.  I  
guess its status for a grand Boost library depends on the answer for  
[9].
12. Does anyone have any idea how to create a Python extension?  I  
did a very quick read of the docs and couldn't get it.  So I just  
made a shared library for the MPI extension for Python and included  
the applicable static libraries and framework.  (It seems you are  
supposed to use a special Python script, and _never_ manually.)   
Since I made a final product, I had to link in my static libraries  
for MPI, Python, MPI-Python, and S11N, then link the OpenMPI  
libraries from MacPorts, then the system's Python framework, then a  
surprise need for some Open libraries also from MacPorts.
13. For the regex library, I defined having ICU, and included it from  
MacPorts.  Should I leave out ICU support in a grand Boost library?

Actually, I think the system has buried copies of Expat and ICU, but  
I don't know how to reach them, or if it's even possible.

Maybe I should try making a framework of all of Boost, modulo the  
answers on what I should include above.  Should I somehow include  
object-code for the parts of the Test library that bring a "main"?   
Or do I have to tell the user to get the framework, then download  
regular Boost to build what's needed for Testing (or MPI, MPI/Python,  
Graph/Expat, or Regex/ICU)?

I think I would have to make a "boost/boost.hpp" overall header to be  
the focal point of the framework, which may be a good idea to create  
anyway.  How would I test it?  Hmm, would anyone here like to take a  
challenge to create a program that uses ALL of Boost, so every symbol  
gets exercised?

-- 
Daryle Walker
Mac, Internet, and Video Game Junkie
darylew AT hotmail DOT com