[boost] [msm] Comments

Subject: [boost] [msm] Comments
From: Nelson, Erik - 2 (erik.l.nelson_at_[hidden])
Date: 2009-12-03 13:47:04

I erroneously posted this on boost-users yesterday... Reposting it here
today.

I'm not competent to present a full review of the Boost MSM library, but
I've been following it with interest since I discovered it at BoostCon.
I've read very many mailing list exchanges between Christophe and users
during this time.

The MSM review hasn't generated a ton of traffic, and I'd like to
contribute my comments for whatever they're worth.

>What is your evaluation of the design?
The Boost MSM library seems to be a well-designed implementation of
state machine logic that is faithful to the UML standard in most areas
and thoughtfully deviates from (or extends) it in a few places.

>What is your evaluation of the implementation?
I feel like the implementation is a clean example of modern C++ and
abstracts state machine concepts quite well.  The transition table in
particular is implemented elegantly.

>What is your evaluation of the documentation?
Adequate

>What is your evaluation of the potential usefulness of the library?
Very useful... I expect to need this library for my work within the next
3-6 months

>Did you try to use the library?
I have not used the library.

>How much effort did you put into your evaluation? A glance? A quick
reading? In-depth study?
Something more than a quick reading, yet well short of an in-depth
study.

>Are you knowledgeable about the problem domain? 
Not particularly.. I've handwritten small state machines for GUI
programming in the past

As an additional comment, I believe Christophe himself typifies the best
things about Boost.  He has tirelessly worked on MSM and has been very
supportive of users, incorporating many suggestions for improvement.

MSM should definitely be included in Boost.

Thanks

Erik