Re: [boost] The problems with Boost development

Subject: Re: [boost] The problems with Boost development
From: Boris Schaeling (boris_at_[hidden])
Date: 2010-03-20 10:46:03

On Sat, 20 Mar 2010 13:25:35 +0100, Paul A. Bristow  
<pbristow_at_[hidden]> wrote:

> [...]     - bjam is unfamiliar and inscrutable to many, and lacks  
> *effective* documentation and jamfile comments.  I see this
> as a mega barrier to many who might like to help.
>
>      -  build/download/install process is not easy enough and not well  
> enough documented - the same user problems keep
> cropping up again and again on the lists. (And very probably this is the  
> tip of a much, much bigger iceberg).

I agree with you that the documentation is not sufficient. I had used  
Boost libraries for many years without ever understanding the difference  
between Boost.Jam and Boost.Build. I also never had an idea which option  
to use when and where (eg. is it msvc, --toolset=msvc, toolset=msvc or  
<toolset>msvc).

After having sat down for a weekend last year and trying to understand the  
entire build process I wrote down what I learned. The article can be found  
at http://www.highscore.de/cpp/boostbuild/ and is not linked anywhere on  
the Boost website as far as I can tell.

 From the feedback I get this article should definitely help you to  
understand the big picture (some developers find the article via the usual  
search engines). The entire build process and the tools made very much  
sense to me when I finally got the big picture. That said I'm pretty much  
impressed - but it took me also years to become impressed. :)

Boris

PS: I only look forward to a Python port of the tools instead of using  
another scripting language in Jamfiles. I didn't make my mind yet whether  
switching to something else like CMake makes sense.