[boost] boost::directx?

Subject: [boost] boost::directx?
From: Christian Schladetsch (christian.schladetsch_at_[hidden])
Date: 2009-06-07 01:27:46

Hello,

Is there a possibility of making submissions that use meta-C++ to assist
with writing DirectX-based code?

Obviously, DirectX is Microsoft-specific (but not necessarily platform
specific!). So my question comes down to "is there a space in boost for
MS-specific systems"? Perhaps in boost::microsoft or boost::directx or
boost::microsoft::directx.

I have a number of systems that are generally useful, and would like to
support the use of boost in game development. It is hard enough to get
gamedevs to use STL, let alone boost. But for example, creating vertex
declarations is a royal PITA and can be assisted with some deft use of
boost::mpl. Plus, we are already using boost::shared_ptr<> to make
com_ptr<>, but it could be made more obvious and a lot of people don't know
how to use it.

There are two ways of looking at it. First, boost is about C++ and not about
supporting specific API's. Fair enough - but then there are many boost
libraries that use system-specific idioms such as threads and lock-free
containers. It could be argued that boost doesn't want to tie itself to a
proprietary API which itself will be versioned and modified externally to
boost, but the same is already true in a lot of what boost does.

Another way of looking at it is that boost is here to be used by real people
solving real problems. In this case, it seems that there is room within a
new namespace for domain-specific boost libraries. I realise this is a can
of worms.

What do you think? Should boost be more egalitarian and increase its
possible audiance, or is introducing a dependancy on a 3rd party proprietary
API an anathema to boost?

Regards,
Christian.

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