Re: [boost] [Booster] Or boost is useless for library developers

Subject: Re: [boost] [Booster] Or boost is useless for library developers
From: Artyom (artyomtnk_at_[hidden])
Date: 2010-05-15 10:23:53

> 
> Sure, boost ABI changes from release to release but unless
> you want to provide a "one-for-all" binary release of your
> library, what is the issue? Even libstdc++ ABI changes every
> now and then.

Not correct. GCC keeps ABI since gcc-3.4... And this is 
now about 6 years... Not bad?

> 
> You can still provide binaries for certain distributions.
> For instance, Ubuntu-8.04 comes with boost-1.34 and
> libstdc++.so.6. That won't change.
> 

Yes, but debian comes with boost-1.35 and Ubuntu-8.10 would be with
another version and maybe user wants to use
in its application 1.42 and he can't because libfoo uses 1.35...

> <snip>
> 

> I would try to avoid
> a library that uses such pseudo-boost in its API instead of
> the real thing,

As I had written I do not encourage you using this. But I can't use
anything else because I can't use boost!

Believe me, writing this library is far from being my first choice.

> In addition, to be honest, personally  because I want to use boost,
> not some
> look-alike. I don't want to use the umpteenth version of a
> smart pointer...

Very good point. The shared_ptr I used is boost shared_ptr but
instead of inline sp_counted_base I use compiled and linked
sp_counted_base so I can change implementation without breaking
binary compatibility. But it is still the same shared_ptr

Small difference.

Artyom