[boost] [Boost.Endian] Review Results

Subject: [boost] [Boost.Endian] Review Results
From: joel falcou (joel.falcou_at_[hidden])
Date: 2011-11-03 14:53:03

Hi everyone,

after some delay, here is the result of the review of Beman Dawes' 
Boost.Endian library. First, I want to thanks all participants
of the review that lead to very deep and interesting discussions on the 
matter.

5 votes were cast : 2 unconditionally in favor, 3 conditionally in favor 
after changes made and there is a mini-review.
The verdict is that Boost.Endian is **CONDITIONNALY ACCEPTED**

Here is what needs to be done to get the library ready for a mini-review:

* Common use case scenarios should be developed.
* Example programs should be developed for the common use case scenarios.
* Documentation should illuminate the differences between endian 
integer/float type and endian conversion approaches to the common use 
case scenarios, and provide guidelines for choosing the most appropriate 
approach in user's applications.
* Conversion functions supplying results via return should be provided.
* Platform specific performance enhancements such as use of compiler 
intrinsics or relaxed alignment requirements should be supported.
* Endian integer (and floating) types should be implemented via the 
conversion functions. If that can't be done efficiently, consideration 
should be given to expanding the conversion function signatures to 
resolve the inefficiencies.
* Benchmarks that measure performance should be provided. It should be 
possible to compare platform specific performance enhancements against 
portable base implementations, and to compare endian integer approaches 
against endian conversion approaches for the common use case scenarios.
* Float (32-bits) and double (64-bits) should be supported. IEEE 754 is 
the primary use case.
* Support for user defined types (UDTs) is desirable, and should be 
provided where there would be no conflict with the other concerns.
* There is some concern that endian integer/float arithmetic operations 
might used inadvertently or inappropriately. The impact of adding an 
endian_buffer class without arithmetic operations should be investigated.
* Stream insertion and extraction of the endian integer/float types 
should be documented and included in the test coverage.
* Binary I/O support that was investigated during development of the 
Endian library should be put up for mini-review for inclusion in the 
Boost I/O library.

 From this point, I will let Beman prepare Endian for the mini-review 
and I already volunteer to manage the mini-review so informations are 
not scattered around.

Regards