Re: [boost] [c++11]

Subject: Re: [boost] [c++11]
From: Niall Douglas (ndouglas_at_[hidden])
Date: 2013-06-17 10:55:54

> That depends on what you consider supported by Boost. A lot of the
> courtesy support for the native compilers for many OSes out there seems
> to be dying out.

If I may be blunt though, if big libraries like Boost don't show up vendor
provided compilers as falling short on standards compliance, then there is
very little incentive for those vendors to fix their compilers.

In other words, it goes both ways.

> I used to see Boost as an empowering library, enhancing and evening out
> the playing field among the compilers out there.
> 
> Some seem to see it as a playground to gain recognition and fast-track
> things into the coming standard libraries, instead of producing
> something usable in the real world.
> 
> I guess it's losing the goal and aim I perceived, if it ever had it to
> begin with. To me, it feels like a betrayal from the library I have
> spent many manhours supporting.
> 
> I've been on this rant before on the lists, in the big sprawling
> discussions about the feasibility of a Boost 2.0, but it seems nothing
> was learned then, and I don't expect anything to be learned going
> forward either.
> 
> As for limiting Boost authors, for leaf libraries that end users can
> avoid, sure, there might not be too much harm. It's creeping into the
> very core libraries as well, which _does_ bother me, as it can render
> whole swaths of the library utterly unusable.
> 
> In the end, we need a definitive statement from whatever cabal is
> controlling Boost, so we don't get these kinds of discussion
> resurrections every few months. All this causes is a lack of faith in
> the project.

Equally, it's not like Boost is hugely commercially developed like other
open source projects: it's mostly volunteer driven. And it's real tough to
come along to people's free time and tell them they have to target compilers
written more than a decade ago, and if they don't their commits won't be
allowed or will get rolled back.

I'll be blunt here: taking off my corporate job hat and putting back on my
old consulting hat, I'd say it simply: you'll get ~ 90% of the C++ user base
support from my open source code for free. If you want more for your niche
technology Y, my rates start at $200/hour.

Niall

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