Re: [boost] Boost policy for putting headers in boost/ Was: #3541 Support <boost/ptr_map.hpp>

Subject: Re: [boost] Boost policy for putting headers in boost/ Was: #3541 Support <boost/ptr_map.hpp>
From: Stewart, Robert (Robert.Stewart_at_[hidden])
Date: 2009-10-23 11:04:58

Christopher Jefferson wrote:
> On 23 Oct 2009, at 15:41, Stewart, Robert wrote:
> > troy d. straszheim wrote:
> >>
> >> % ls boost/fusion
> >> adapted/       container.hpp   iterator.hpp  support/   view.hpp
> >> adapted.hpp    functional/     mpl/        support.hpp
> >> algorithm/     functional.hpp  mpl.hpp             tuple/
> >> algorithm.hpp  include/        sequence/     tuple.hpp
> >> container/     iterator/       sequence.hpp  view/
> >
> > I find navigating such directory structures needlessly annoying: I
> > can't use filename completion easily.  With all.hpp, the directory
> > name completes, with a trailing "/", and then I can type "all" and
> > complete that.  (Yes, I can get completion up to the "/" or "." and
> > then type whichever I want to complete the header name or navigate
> > into the subdirectory, but the partial completion can also mean that
> > there are other files that begin with what I typed.  I can't
> > navigate as easily unless I already know the directory contents.)
> >
> I very rarely tab-complete header file names, and I suspect most users

Your usage patterns are limited to your coworkers and your environment.  Mine suggests that there are a great many people who use tab completion constantly.  Consequently, we can't favor one over the other if a neutral solution is possible.

> don't either. Using 'all.hpp' means that when listing header files
> (for example because I want to know what file a particular function
> came from), you need more text to distinguish the file you are
> refering to. Having many identically named headers in different
> directories sounds to me like a recipe for confusion.

My current emacs settings would make all.hpp less than ideal, too, *if* I had more than one open because I don't include the directory name in the buffer names.  That means I could have multiple "all.hpp" buffers open at once, making switching among them more difficult than necessary.

However, I really can't imagine having all.hpp files open for more than a moment to determine the headers they include.  Likewise, there aren't any symbols defined in such headers -- they only include other headers -- so you wouldn't find them in your symbol search results either.

_____
Rob Stewart                           robert.stewart_at_[hidden]
Software Engineer, Core Software      using std::disclaimer;
Susquehanna International Group, LLP  http://www.sig.com

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