Re: [boost] Answers re BENUM library for automated enum streaming

Subject: Re: [boost] Answers re BENUM library for automated enum streaming
From: Tony D (tony_in_da_uk_at_[hidden])
Date: 2008-09-17 11:00:34

Hi all,

Should I expect any further feedback re BENUM?  David, Marcus: we've discussed specific issues (portability of variadic macros, smart_enum features) - do you have further questions, comments re my replies, or recommended actions before submission for formal review?  Should I be doing more to pursue suggestions or solicit feedback?  Is anyone else currently reviewing the code in the vault, experiment with usage in a real system, or planning to do so?  If so, can we keep in touch re progress?  If I don't hear anything to the contrary this week, I'll start doing the preparations for requesting  a formal review, specifically my TODO list currently looks like:

- better (HTML) docs / simpler usage examples,
- clean up comment in headers (doxygen style?)/copyrights,
- optimise Info_Container value-to-identifier resolution (have resisted early optimisation as design/functional changes might invalidate),
- add a few representative container/feature combinations in easier-to-use macros.

BTW / I stumbled across an old submission for "boost_enum" - it seems to "go the whole hog" and address some of the bit-masking issues BENUM does (though not as flexibly ;-P).  This contrasts with smart_enum's relative simplicity but cleanliness.  I love simplicity (I wrote a cut-down version of BENUM for my introspective preprocessor project which only supports incrementing-from-0 enumerations and no bit masking/ORing because I didn't like the idea of all the extra baggage/inefficiencies), but I think people look to boost for reasonably generic and comprehensive solutions.  But, boost_enum work seemed to peter out.  smart_enum petered out.   Both had much more early interest displayed than BENUM.  Should I consider the "enum" space a dead end - "abandon all hope ye who enter here"?  Am I wasting everyone's time?  My theory is that BENUM has greater potential for widespread end-user acceptance and actual use (despite less portability) because of its
 enum-like notation, and that that makes BENUM worth pursuing.  A view I'd welcome comments on.

Thanks,
Tony