Re: [boost] Boost.Build: new tutorial

Subject: Re: [boost] Boost.Build: new tutorial
From: Robert Ramey (ramey_at_[hidden])
Date: 2014-11-09 15:17:05

I've been a complainer about b2/bjam forever.

I think the main problem has been a misstep in the original concept.  It
does so much stuff auto-magically that when things are not quite right it's
impossible to figure out what to do .  It seems like it outsmarts the user
and tries to do what the user "wants" when the user doesn't have something
set up right.  If I have two compilers installed and I might get one or the
other depending on ?.   I would rather that it stops with "multiple
compilers found - select specific compiler! with ... ".  So if I haven't got
things right, I just keep fixing stuff until it works rather than embarking
on a guessing game.

This doesn't have to be done as a huge redesign.  Currently every time a
user has a problem he gets information one where to look and what to try. 
Better would be to tweak the code so it fails as soon as possible with an
error message.  Eventually, the requests for help would diminish as all the
common errors would be addressed.

my 2 cents.

Robert Ramey

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