Re: [boost] Breaking existing libraries

Subject: Re: [boost] Breaking existing libraries
From: Vladimir Prus (vladimir_at_[hidden])
Date: 2008-11-21 11:27:32

Stephen Nuchia wrote:

>> FWIW, if you're a Windows/MSVC user, then building fresh Boost
>> release takes about 5 mins of human work, and
>> boost-build_at_[hidden] can provide assistance if anything goes
> wrong.
> 
> Because of the way the MSVC STL is implemented, we have to make sure the
> compiler options (specifically, the one disabling iterator checking in
> release-mode builds) match.  We also want the WPO/PGO and some other
> settings to match.  And we need to be able to change those settings
> globally in a build to accommodate, for instance, Compuware's code
> analysis tools that don't run when you enable too much optimization.  So
> we build the compiled boost libraries we are using as part of our
> product build.

Oh, matching existing build system *exactly* to the degree of not breaking
external tools with too much optimization is certainly not a trivial task
as just getting Boost for MSVC, I agree.

> 
> Avoiding ODR (one-definition rule) violations is hard.  Avoiding them
> across the MSBuild / boost build chasm is very hard.  NP-annoying hard,
> not NP-hard hard.  But hard enough.
> 
> The one-on-one help you provide, Vladimir, has been of great value.  I
> admire your energy and your dedication to the task.  But I'd also like
> to have a design and documentation that doesn't require an entire
> semester of study to reach the level where I have some idea why one
> syntax works and another doesn't.

FWIW, some bits of docs were rewritten for 1.37, and some more
are in the queue.

- Volodya