Re: [boost] Release managers: Boost.Thread breaking changes in 1.53

Subject: Re: [boost] Release managers: Boost.Thread breaking changes in 1.53
From: Dave Abrahams (dave_at_[hidden])
Date: 2012-12-31 08:23:22

on Sun Dec 30 2012, Artyom Beilis <artyomtnk-AT-yahoo.com> wrote:

> HUGE amount of man hours are spent just because Boost breaks stuff.

People know what they're getting when they use Boost, and if they don't,
we should be more explicit about telling them.

> I would like to provide a recent quote of Linus Torvalds regarding the kernel:
>
> Â  > WE DO NOT BREAK USERSPACE! Seriously. How hard is this rule to understand?
> Â  > [...] The fact that you then try to make *excuses* for breaking user space,
>
> Of course Boost is not Linux kernel, (if Linux kernel was managed as Boost I would
> switched to FreeBSD) and it not as important to maintain backward compatibility
> from user perspective, but this is something we MUST learn.

I don't agree.  Boost wouldn't be what it is today if we had a rule like
that.  Every project is entitled to its own policies, and I don't
disagree with Linus on this point because he is the steward of the Linux
kernel.  However, as you say, Boost is not the Linux kernel.

-- 
Dave Abrahams
BoostPro Computing                  Software Development        Training
http://www.boostpro.com             Clang/LLVM/EDG Compilers  C++  Boost