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

Subject: Re: [boost] [Booster] Or boost is useless for library developers
From: Isidor Zeuner (boost_at_[hidden])
Date: 2010-05-18 10:02:37

> > What would happen of libstdc++ was statically linked or even libc?
> >
> > Bad things.
> >
> > And boost becomes today as important as libstdc++.
> 
> Boost isn't designed to be a single, system-wide source of
> functionality for a wide array of libraries and applications.  To
> do so would make it something else entirely.
> 

With more and more functionality being added to boost, the likelyhood
for people to try using it for exactly that purpose increases. I do
not think this is a bad thing, nor do I think it goes completely
contrary to boost's evolution. But due to boost's design, it
cannot be used for that purpose in the same way as it is possible for
libstdc++ or libc. For both libstdc++ and libc, ABI changes were
generally avoided as far as possible. Boost doesn't do so, nor do
I think it would do boost anything good if it did. But using
appropriate tools not to avoid ABI multiplicity, but to deal with it,
it might well become a system-wide functionality source. Such tools
could be:

* user-controlled name mangling to avoid collisions

* ABI introspection (like a static int
  boost::shared_ptr<T>::abi_version)

* explicit indirection facilities to shield important interfaces
  against ABI changes

* smarter build autoconfiguration tools

Best regards,

Isidor