Re: [boost] Deprecation guidelines?

Subject: Re: [boost] Deprecation guidelines?
From: Vicente Botet (vicente.botet_at_[hidden])
Date: 2011-03-18 07:09:36

Paul A. Bristow-2 wrote:
> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: boost-bounces_at_[hidden]
>> [mailto:boost-bounces_at_[hidden]]
>> On Behalf Of John Maddock
>> Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2011 4:47 PM
>> To: boost_at_[hidden]
>> Subject: Re: [boost] Deprecation guidelines?
>> 
>> >> Where can one find guidelines on how to deprecate things in Boost?
>> >> What is the proper way to check that code using Boost is clean?
>> >
>> > There is no standard for doing this. Right now, it's whatever each
>> > library author decides to do.
>> 
>> If someone would like to volunteer to document best practice on the Wiki
>> though that would be great ;-)
> 
> OK - I hope this might be within my skill set?
> 
> Shall I start with a new thread asking for views?
> 
> Or shall I dream up and post up a 'strawman' proposal for others to shoot
> at?
> 
> 

I started long time ago this
https://svn.boost.org/trac/boost/wiki/Guidelines/MaintenanceGuidelines#Deprecatingfeatures

Note that this doesn't takes care of the possibility provided by some
compilers (gcc, msvc) to deprecated a single entity as at the time I wrote
that I was not aware of the possibility.

Deprecating a file seems simple. Just add a warning when the file is include

#warning "This file is deprecated, please use another_file instead"

But deprecating parts of a file is not supported by all compilers. So the
idea is to use the file deprecation to deprecate parts of a file by
including conditionally this part.

Before

// file.hpp

...

...

After deprecation

  // file.hpp

  ... 
  #if defined(BOOST_LIBX_DONT_INCLUDE_DEPRECATED_NAME) 
  #include 
  #endif
  ...

 // file with deprecated_part.ipp

  #warning "This file is deprecated, please use another_file instead"
  
 
Note that the .ipp files don't protect themselves as include by a protected
file.

I don't know if we can build a macros that could allow us to simplify

  #if !defined(BOOST_LIBX_DONT_INCLUDE_DEPRECATED_NAME) ...
  #include  
  #endif

by

  BOOST_INCLUDE_DEPRECATED_PART(LIB, NAME)

HTH,
Vicente

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