Re: [boost] RFC: Separating Boost.Python from Boost

Subject: Re: [boost] RFC: Separating Boost.Python from Boost
From: Peter Dimov (lists_at_[hidden])
Date: 2015-05-30 06:29:09

Robert Ramey wrote:

> Why would anyone want to use this? and for what?

It's a Linux thing.

On Linux, you do

    apt-get install boost

and you get a pre-built Boost release (1.55.0, for example, for the current 
Debian/Ubuntu distributions) automatically downloaded and installed into the 
system header and library locations.

So if you then want to upgrade just Boost.Python, you could in theory 
download a standalone Boost.Python release and build it with the 
system-installed Boost.Build, against the system-installed dependencies such 
as Boost.SmartPtr.

On Windows (and, I suppose, OS X), there's no such system-supplied Boost, so 
the above doesn't apply and Windows people don't see a point, in a similar 
manner to how Linux people can't see the point of bpm.