Re: [boost] Boost.Process 0.5: Another update/potential candidate for an official library

Subject: Re: [boost] Boost.Process 0.5: Another update/potential candidate for an official library
From: Boris Schaeling (boris_at_[hidden])
Date: 2012-11-13 16:39:03

On Thu, 08 Nov 2012 01:08:21 +0100, Alexander Lamaison  
<awl03_at_[hidden]> wrote:

> [...]Does this mean child *is* copyable on other platforms?  So the  
> class has
> entirely different semantics on different platforms?

Yes. It doesn't own resources on POSIX.

I understand what you hint at. I'm not sure though whether we can justify  
making child non-copyable for POSIX developers just because Windows  
developers can't copy it.

> [...]I still don't get why you're letting this behaviour vary between
> platform.  Sure, the underlying system calls have different defaults but
> they are both capable of both behaviours.  The whole point of a
> platform-independent library is to align such variation.

If you use inherit_env(), you get the cross-platform behavior you are  
looking for. But I prefer not to break the "pay for what you  
use"-principle if you don't use inherit_env(). Besides, standardizing the  
default behavior requires you to pick one. But whether this should be  
always POSIX, always Windows, always the most convenient or always the  
easiest to implement - I'm afraid there will be always others who want  
another default behavior.

Boris