Re: [boost] Checking interest in DynamicLoad/DLL/DSO/Plugin library

Subject: Re: [boost] Checking interest in DynamicLoad/DLL/DSO/Plugin library
From: Klaim - Joël Lamotte (mjklaim_at_[hidden])
Date: 2014-08-15 13:22:08

On Fri, Aug 15, 2014 at 6:44 PM, Niall Douglas <s_sourceforge_at_[hidden]>
wrote:

> On 15 Aug 2014 at 15:36, Antony Polukhin wrote:
>
> > There is a basic implementation of a header only Plugin library:
> > https://github.com/apolukhin/Boost.Plugin
> >
> > Documentation with examples could be found here:
> > http://apolukhin.github.io/Boost.Plugin/index.html
> >
> > Is there an interest in such library in Boost community?
> > What features are missing in the library?
> >
> > Looking forward to hearing from you. Any feedback is more than welcomed.
>
> It definitely has the wrong name because it doesn't implement
> plugins, it basically is a wrapper for the POSIX and Windows dynamic
> shared library functions. Boost.SharedLibrary is a far better name.
>
>
In my experience the "plugin" word is used as soon as a shared library
could be loaded at an indeterminable time during execution (and be unloaded
too).
This is different from just "shared library" which is both a plugin
implementation and a library linkage, including having the library
automatically loaded
at startup.
To me plugin is far more precise than "shared library".
You don't need such a library to make a shared library. You would need such
a library to make a plugin (or extension, or module) library.

Even CMake call them "module", not "shared" libraries. Even if implemented
in unix-like systems as just "shared" libraries,
it's still a special case of shared library, not the general case.

> Now, if you did want to implement a Boost Plugins library, combining
> John Bandela's CppComponents
> (https://github.com/jbandela/cppcomponents) header only library which
> turns C++ objects into portable Microsoft COM compatible objects and
> Boost.ASIO as the event dispatch loop would probably be an optimal
> solution. Not only does that seamlessly plug into all Microsoft
> technologies, it also is an easy way of SWIG exposing your object
> into all the languages SWIG supports. If anyone is interested in
> implementing this solution to Boost quality, I believe I might be
> able to get you hourly funding to do it - contact me off list.
>
>
Could you clarify what you mean by plugin here?
I don't see why ASIO would be a nice dependency for such a tool,
but I don't understand what you mean either.

> That said, I have no objection to your library or its design which is
> solid, so long as it is named more appropriately to what it provides.
> I suppose my only real qualm is that I wish your library did more.
>
> Niall
>
> --
> ned Productions Limited Consulting
> http://www.nedproductions.biz/
> http://ie.linkedin.com/in/nialldouglas/
>
>
>
>
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